Celebrating Dragonfly Day
At the urging of New York State Assemblyman Fred Thiele, New York has recognized June 9 as Dragonfly Day since 2018, an opportunity to hold educational events to increase awareness of the value of wetlands and encourage the implementation of climate change adaption strategies and learn about how to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
This Saturday, June 11, the Friends of the Long Pond Greenbelt, Southampton Town, the League of Conservation Voters and the South Fork Natural History Museum (SoFo) are teaming up for a Dragonfly & Green Expo Festival at Vineyard Field behind SoFo, at 377 Bridgehampton/Sag Harbor Turnpike.
At Dragonfly Day, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., there will be demonstrations hosted by Southampton Town of geothermal air and ground source heat pumps, solar and battery storage, new innovative septic systems, electric vehicles and other green initiatives.
Lynn Arthur, who is organizing the town’s portion of the programming, said Sag Harbor resident Helen Roussel had pushed Mr. Thiele to introduce the legislation creating Dragonfly Day.
“There was no legislation that requires wetlands be protected,” said Ms. Arthur. “We need wetlands to protect us from severe storms. If you have clean wetlands, you get dragonflies and if the wetlands are polluted, you don’t have dragonflies. They, as a species, are indicative of clean water.”
“It’s a metaphor to encourage and educate the public of the importance of wetlands and the role they play in sustaining human life and protecting our coastlines from severe storms,” she added.
There will also be activities for kids including visits by rescue animals, a dragonfly identification walk and workshops in potting and seeding native plants, art projects and bath bomb making.
The Bridgehampton Marimba Band will perform from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., a demonstration of geothermal energy systems at 12:30 p.m. and food trucks.
At 1 p.m., Deputy Southampton Town Supervisor Frank Zappone, Mr. Thiele, Southampton Town Councilman John Bouvier and Trustee Ann Welker will give speeches about what we can do to take care of the earth, and what Dragonfly Day means to them.
The New York League of Conservation Voters is promoting ‘Electrify Your Ride,’ featuring electric vehicles from Tesla, Rivian, and other manufacturers. Otis Ford representatives are are bringing the new F-150 Lightning pickup truck and the Mach-E Mustang.
Representatives from PSEG-Long Island’s Residential Energy Affordability Partnership will also be on-hand to provide information about rebates for energy efficient home appliances and energy equipment.
Here’s more information about the event, which will be held rain or shine.
