What began as a casual lockdown activity with two people back in the summer of 2020 ulimately turned into a multi-year citizen science project (100% volunteer) devoted to documenting the diversity and abundance of caterpillars in Toronto's High Park. For a more in-depth history and what makes caterpillars so fascinating, click here.​​

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As far as we know, this is the only citizen science project in the world focused exclusively on documenting the caterpillars of an urban park (If you know of any others, please let us know.).

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Much like a caterpillar going through its instars (growing stages), the survey continues to expand with each passing year. In 2024, our fifth season, we held a whopping 55 sessions, recording nearly 2700 caterpillars spread across 117 species. As of the end of 2024, the survey had recorded a total of 164 species.

 

The survey welcomes new volunteers — no experience necessary. You can find more details here.​