Dragonfly Mercury Project: A community and citizen science effort

Duration:

2 minutes, 39 seconds

The Dragonfly Mercury Project is a nationwide program that pairs scientific efforts to understand mercury pollution risks with public engagement and education. Mercury is a toxic contaminant that threatens human and wildlife health, arriving in even remote national parks through rain and snow. Dragonfly larvae serve as indicators of mercury contamination in fish and throughout aquatic food webs. Every year, national parks work with community and citizen scientists to collect dragonfly larvae for this study.

Though we are mindful of the challenges that COVID-19 places on public engagement, participants are always welcome either in-person when local conditions allow, and/or virtually through remote learning tools. If further interested, we encourage you to contact us and reach out to your nearest national park to see how you can get involved!