Press Release from Branford Land Trust

The Branford Land Trust (BLT) 2024 Speaker Series is excited to welcome author John Himmelman for a presentation entitled, “Discovering Moths: Nighttime Jewels in Your Own Backyard,” that will take place on Thursday, Feb. 22 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the James Blackstone Memorial Library on 758 Main Street. The talk is free and open to the public.

Meet these beautiful, fascinating, and underappreciated cousins of the butterflies by attending this presentation on moths. This group of insects needs a better press agent! Less than 1% of the over 11,000 species of moths in North America are considered pests. The rest show an amazing variety of color, shape, and behavior that is missed by many of us, as we tend to be indoors at night, when most (not all) are active. They’re an ethereal thread in our faunal tapestry.

John Himmelman is an author, illustrator, naturalist, and popular lecturer. He is a co-founder and president of the CT Butterfly Association, past president of the New Haven Bird Club, past president of The Nature Connection, and past president of the Killingworth Land Trust. He has lectured and led many trips afield in search of various flora and fauna throughout the country for over 30 years. He is the author of more than 80 books for children and adults on various nature topics, including the second edition of Discovering Moths: Nighttime Jewels in Your Own Backyard, which was published in 2023.

The BLT Winter 2024 Speaker Series is made possible by a grant from the Branford Community Foundation and Guilford Savings Bank. Save the date for these additional presentations: “Coastal and Arine Ecosystems” with Dr. Sarah Crosby on Thursday, March 21; “What Do You Do with Your Banana Peels in Branford?” with Malaine Trecoske and Erica O’Brien on Thursday, Thursday, April 18; and the BLT annual meeting, “An Introduction to the CT National Estuarine Research Reserve: A State and Federal Partnership for Coastal Research, Education, Training, and Stewardship,”with Kevin O'Brien, manager of the National Estuarine Research Reserve, on Monday, May 13.

The Branford Land Trust is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, accredited by the Land Trust Alliance, established in 1967 to protect Branford’s open space and natural resources. Run by volunteers and supported by member families and businesses, the Land Trust maintains more than 30 miles of hiking trails, and manages and protects over 1,000 acres in more than 130 parcels, and holds conservation easements on another 400 acres in Branford. For more information, visit branfordlandtrust.org.