Backyard Butterflies

VOLUNTEER AT THE HILLSBOROUGH MOTH CRAWL

Because someone has to keep the lights on.

The Hillsborough Moth Crawl is a one-night, multi-venue moth light trapping extravaganza happening simultaneously across multiple locations. It's chaotic! It's beautiful! It's MOTHS! Volunteers get to choose both their venue and their role, so you're not just signing up to help, you're signing up for exactly the kind of MOTH experience you want to have!

As a thank-you for your service to mothkind, every volunteer receives a complimentary Limited Edition Commemorative Hillsborough Moth Crawl T-shirt to wear with pride on the night of the event. In the comment field let us know your T-shirt size and we'll have it ready for you!

The only hard requirement? You must love moths. Obviously!

SO WHAT WOULD YOU ACTUALLY BE DOING?

Parking Attendant — aka Traffic Jedi

Here's a fun fact: the lighted batons used to guide cars into parking spots are functionally indistinguishable from lightsabers. We're just saying! If you've ever wanted a legitimate excuse to dramatically wave a glowing stick at slow-moving vehicles while wearing a commemorative T-shirt and glow-in-the-dark safety vest, parking attendant is the role for you! You'll guide arriving guests, keep traffic moving, and set the tone for a magical evening, all before most people have even seen their first moth!

Moth Monitor — aka Guardian of the Sacred Lights

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is gloriously straightforward: keep the light trap stations operational. That's it! The frames are lightweight, which sounds great until a gust of wind comes through or someone bumps into the frame. You'll keep things upright, swap out batteries if a light goes dark, and generally make sure the moths have somewhere worth showing up to. If you happen to know your Sphinx moths from your Tiger moths, or you're handy with iNaturalist, feel free to help attendees with IDs. But honestly? Keeping the frames standing and the lights on is enough. You'll be a hero!

Registration — aka The Oracle

This role has more moving parts than it sounds, and we mean that as a compliment! You'll be checking in registered attendees, handing out Swag Bags, and managing the T-shirt raffle, which involves the very satisfying task of exchanging completed Official Stamp Cards for a raffle ticket into the special T-shirt drawing. You'll also be the resident T-shirt promoter, general information desk, and all-around warm presence at the front of the event. If someone looks confused, that's your cue to help.

End-of-Night Tear-Down — aka All Hands on Deck!

We want to be upfront: when the moths have gone to bed and the evening wraps up, all volunteers are expected to help with tear-down. Before you panic, here's what that looks like in practice:

• Can you carry a lightweight box from point A to point B? Wonderful. You're helping.
• Can you assist with taking down a canopy tent? Fantastic.
• Up for hauling sandbags? You are an absolute legend.

Do whatever you're capable of. No one is keeping score. We just all clean up together, say good-night, and then tuck in the MOTHS!