Wednesday Night Naturalism: Moths on Gabbro

​Join us for our first Wednesday Night Naturalism! We're celebrating National Moth Week by contributing a night of moth observations on the unique gabbro soils in Cameron Park.

​Those distinctive red soils of Cameron Park formed from weathered gabbro, a volcanic rock rich in iron and magnesium. These areas are bonafide biodiversity hotspots— the gabbro habitats of El Dorado County (including the Pine Hill Preserve) occupy just 0.05% of California's area, but they contain nearly 10% of the state's plant diversity!

​We'll spend the evening by setting up a moth sheet and UV lights. This will be a relaxed, lowkey gathering, with no moth or plant knowledge needed! Feel free to bring a camp chair, blanket, snacks or drink, to hang out while we document moths, insects, and other nocturnal life on iNaturalist. Please bring your phone or camera, if you'd like to take pictures and contribute observations. All observations will be added to an iNaturalist project, which will be shared with all volunteers, the Bureau of Land Management, and will become part of an international dataset used by researchers around the world.

​We will park and meet at the dead end of Ponte Morino Drive in Cameron Park (outside the Ponte Palmero gates, behind the office park; map screenshot further below), and then walk out into the forest area together. We'll set up not too far from the parking area, but please contact us if you're arriving late and we'll help you find the group.

​----

​Learn more about National Moth Week here.

​Interested in coming but not sure what iNaturalist is, or how to observe insects? No worries! Please come on out and we'll show you the ropes. I also recommend watching this short video introducing iNaturalist.

​Learn more about El Dorado County's gabbro islands here and here.

​Parking/meeting location marked with red pin: