NymphFest 2020 has been CANCELED. This is because of the recommendations of not gathering large groups to reduce the spread of COVID19.
When we have more information on rescheduling we will post it here.
NymphFest 2020 / Ithaca, NY
Welcome NEDSA NymphFest 2020 workshop
It is held in Ithaca, New York from Mar 28-20 2020. It is cosponsored by Cornell Botanic Gardens and Community Science Institute of Ithaca. Ithaca, NY is a medium sized town on south end of Cayuga Lake of beautiful Finger Lakes Region. Cayuga Lake is one of the longest and deepest Finger Lakes. It is the home for Cornell University. Ithaca is gorges and full of small and big waterfalls.
Venue for the NymphFest Workshop in Ithaca
The event will be held at beautiful Nevin Welcome of Cornell Botanic Gardens, click here for a link, on the university campus. Official address is 124 Comstock Knoll Dr, Ithaca, NY 14850. Map; Click here for a link to google maps.
Lots of parking is available at the center or one can park at Peterson lot opposite Dairy Bar and take a stairway down to Nevin Center. No parking fees are necessary as it is week-end.
How to get to Ithaca NY
By Flight:
Ithaca airport: Many direct flights from Detroit, Newark and Philadelphia are available. Most other destinations are via these airports.
Elmira Airport: Half an hour from Ithaca. Several Delta flights come to Elmira from Detroit and other destinations. From here Uber and Lyft are the options to come to Ithaca.
Syracuse Airport: Syracuse is an hour away from Ithaca. Best way to travel to Ithaca is to rent a car or asking a local friend to drive to Ithaca. Uber and Lyft are available. Many cheap direct flights are available to Syracuse.
Rochester airport: An hour and a half from Ithaca and many cheap flights are available. Car rental, Uber and Lyft are the options to come to Ithaca.
By Road:
It is about half an hour to one hour from major highways and thruways. Many bus companies also pass through Ithaca especially for those who want to come from NYC or NJ north.
Accommodations
Our official host hotel is Best Western University Inn click here for link.
We have kept hold on for 10 rooms until Feb 27 2020. Hurry if you plan to book here! Room charges are $159/room with maximum of two persons/room. Give NEDSA as code word. (psst: Actually if you do online booking it is much cheaper for the same hotel. Choice is yours.)There are many hotels in Ithaca area which are just 10-15 minutes from venue from anywhere in Ithaca as the venue is centrally located on Cornell campus. Only don’t book at Trip Hotel which seems is in shambles at least from outside, once it was a good place.
Some of the suggestions are Hotel Ithaca, Econo Lodge, Hampton Inn, Hilton Garden Inn in downtown, Courtyard by Marriott, Clarion Inn, near Ithaca airport. Most of them less than 2 miles away from the venue.
Then there are numerous cottages on the lake, full apartments and Airbnbs also available. Also there are Bed and Breakfasts, Inns etc in the area. Some of them are very good deals.
Also if you are looking for a high-end hotel then there is Cornell’s own Statler Hotel, part of hotel school complex.
Here are some of the websites for looking up accommodations. Hotels.com, VRBO, Airbnb
There are several places which will rent a whole apartment or house. If you can find people to share that is a great way of spending time with likeminded people.
Eateries
All kinds of ethnic and local foods are available. It is home of famous Moosewood Restaurant. You can get many kinds of American, Italian, Indian, Mexican, Japanese, Ethiopian, Thai, Vietnamese, Middle Eastern, Greek etc. Also there are numerous pizza joints. There are many local beers brewed in local breweries are also available.
Links to various reviewed restaurants:Trip advisor,Visit Ithaca
What else to do in Ithaca
To see what more you can do in Ithaca visit this website.
Beautiful Cornell University Campus and Botanic gardens can be visited. This week-end would be spring break so there would be very little traffic of students on the campus, so you can go around in leisurely fashion.
Ithaca region is birders paradise. Ithaca and Finger Lakes during March end are major hub for migratory birds. It is the peak season for geese and waterfowls, owls like Snowy and Short-eared owls. We also currently have a resident Gyr Falcon in Cayuga Lake Basin. The week of Nymphfest also coincides with Finger lakes bird festival. Click here for details.
Cornell Lab of Ornithology is another great destination for birders as well as non-birders. For more details, click here.
Visit three beautiful State Parks – Taughannock Falls State Park, Buttermilk State Park, Buttermilk Falls State Park and Robert Treman State Park are gorgeous parks with numerous waterfalls. But access may be restricted as some parts of parks may be closed for winter.
You can also visit numerous wineries of the region. You can take a tour, click here for details or visit own your own, click here for details.
Or just hang around in downtown Ithaca and visit variety of eateries, Ithaca falls etc. If there is snow around you can go skiing, snowshoeing and hiking.
Looking for Odonates
There are numerous, creeks, ponds and lakes nearby. Half an hour to 40 minutes’ drive will give access to larger rivers to go look for Nymphs, but it all depends on weather conditions. Keep watch for more details about the locations at a later date.
Registration
Registration is open for the Nymphfest 2020. Registration is free and we have the maximum limit of 40 registrants. Click the button below to register.
If you would like to see who is registered for NymphFest click here.
Please bring the following if you can:
Registrants are requested to bring their own X10 or more magnifying lenses. If you do not have one you can get it as low as $4.00 to 20.00 from Amazon.Click here for link.
Here are three of the many choices available at Amazon that have their own LED lights and one withUV lights too.
2. JARLINK 2 Pack 30X 60X Illuminated
3. JARLINK 2 Pack LED Slide-Out Jewelers Loupe, 10X 20X 30X
Meena Haribal (mmh3@cornell.edu) is your contact for further information regarding the logistics in and to Ithaca.
Program Details
(Depends on weather conditions program may be modified)
Saturday March 28 2020 at Nevin Welcome Center
8.30 am - 9.00 am Meet and Greet
9.00 am - 9.30 am NEDSA program coordinator present the program
9.30 am -10.00 am Short History of Odonates Study in Ithaca Title TBA by Nick Donnelly
10.00 am - 10.15 am Break
10.15 am - 12.15 pm Workshop on dragonfly Nymph and exuviae identification. Topics covered - Nymph Ontogeny, Nymph anatomy & Nymph Identification (family and some genera) By Marla Garrison
12.15 pm - 1.30 pm Lunch Break
1.30 pm - 3.00 pm Local Field trip to demonstrate nymph collection and collect a few nypmhs if there are any (weather permitting)
3.00 pm – 5.00 pm further practice on identification of newly collected larvae (if any) and of exuviae samples provided by Marla Garrison
6.00 pm - 9.00 pm If possible we will go as a group for dinner. (look out for announcements)
Sunday March 29 2020
9.00 am Meet at Nevin Welcome Center
9.00 am to 10.00 am Presentations by other participants
10.00 -10.15 am break
10.15 am to Noon some more practice on identification of exuviae.
Noon – 12.15 pm Conclusion and disperse
Additional Trip: 7.15 am to 8.45 am Birding at Stewart Park to look for waterfowls on Cayuga Lake lead by Meena Haribal (Optional for birders from the group)