On Tuesday June 25th the Blue Ridge Naturalist Network hosted its first walk featuring dragonflies and damselflies at Charles D. Owen Park in Swannanoa.  Blessed with a beautiful early summer day under partly cloudy skies we had a total of 27 people participating.  Our walk leaders were local dragonfly and butterfly enthusiasts Gail Lankford and Vin Stanton.  We began by touring the perimeter of one of the small lakes at the park and soon began seeing interesting damselflies and dragonflies.  The damselflies were especially tricky to spot given their small size, but gradually we calibrated ourselves and began to notice them all around the lake.  A special treat just before lunch was spotting a Harvester butterfly along the lakeshore.

The Blue Ridge Naturalist Network and the West Asheville Public Library will host speakers from Appalachian Wildlife Refuge which is a nonprofit that coordinates the needs of wildlife rehabilitation in Western North Carolina providing care for injured and orphaned wildlife, support for the wildlife rehabilitation network and conservation education to the community. 
5:30 to 7:00 p.m. at the West Asheville Public Library
Free and open to the public.