Why are you interested in GLOBE Mission Mosquito and using GLOBE Observer Mosquito Habitat Mapper in your community/ library programming? 

We are interested in the GLOBE Mission Mosquito campaign and using GLOBE Observer Mosquito Habitat Mapper in our Neighborhood Science programming because we feel the strong need to raise awareness and educate Angelenos about the threat mosquitoes can pose to local residents and families. Since the first sighting and spreading of Asian Tiger mosquitoes in 2001, which arrived with shipments of lucky bamboo from China, Los Angeles has been home to other invasive mosquito species, including the yellow fever mosquitoes that are known to carry Zika and dengue virus. As the second largest city in the U.S. with the world's fifth busiest airport and top two busiest shipping ports in the nation, Los Angeles is essentially the gatekeeper of many unwelcome pests that post high health risks. With the amount of rain we had this past winter and  spring, the spreading of mosquitoes is anticipated to be even more pervasive. 

Through the Neighborhood Science program in the branches of Los Angeles Public Library, we are providing the participants with knowledge of mosquitoes and tools to track, record, and share their habitat information with researchers and scientists using the GLOBE Observer Mosquito Habitat Mapper app. We want our program participants to know that they also have the power to stop the spreading of the mosquito population and prevent possible disease outbreaks. 

Are mosquitoes a problem in your community? How?

Yes. There have been cases of human West Nile Virus reported in the Los Angeles area. West Nile Virus is spread to humans through the bite of an infected mosquito. The Greater Los Angeles Vector Control District has also been on the lookout for mosquitoes and warning residents that ongoing mosquito activity in the region is continuing to bring additional human West Nile infections, along with the threat of other illnesses transmitted by new invasive populations of Aedes mosquitoes.

Could you briefly describe your library program or plans for participating in GLOBE Mission Mosquito or piloting GLOBE Observer Mosquito Habitat Mapper and activities in your community?

Our children's librarian at the Arroyo Seco Branch will be piloting the mosquito program using GLOBE Observer Mosquito Habitat Mapper next month. She will be following the lesson plans put together by IGES. Since the participants of her program are primarily kindergartners to second graders, she plans to start with a picture book on mosquitoes and their habitat. They will go over the anatomy of mosquitoes and threats they post to humans. She will then show a couple of Youtube videos on how a mosquito sucks our blood and transmits diseases. Following the video, participants will be building their own mosquito trap and go out to the park next door to look for mosquito larvae. If they can find larvae, they will observe and take a photo of the larvae, and input data using the Mosquito Habitat Mapper app.