Outreach Activities

Dragonflies of Sri Lanka in Sinhala

This lecture was conducted as a part of the DragonflySouthAsia regional talk series on 23rd May 2020, celebrating the International Day for Biological Diversity. 
This Sinhalese language talk aims at educating the local community on dragonflies and damselflies and promoting them among the general public.
The talk covers an introduction to the biology and ecology of dragonflies, basic morphology and identification, diversity, distribution and conservation of Sri Lankan odonates and the importance of citizen science in odonate studies. 

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Insects of Sri Lanka

A Sinhala talk on "Insects of Sri Lanka: An Introduction to Diversity and Natural History" conducted on 28th August 2021.
It was held as the monthly lecture of the Butterfly Conservation Society of Sri Lanka. 

The session covers the diversity and natural history of insects in Sri Lanka with introductions to some major insect groups, history of research on the subject and some recent work.

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Popular Articles

2019: The year Sri Lanka’s stunning new species came to light (Commentary). Mongabay. 
Among top 10 reads in January and February 2020. 

How a changing climate threatens Sri Lanka's dragonflies and damselflies (commentary). Mongabay.

Interviewed Articles
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More discoveries, more threats for Sri Lanka's dragonflies and damselflies. Mongabay by Dilrukshi Handunneththi. 

Discovery of a metalic-blue tarantula bolsters case for the trade protection. Mongabay by Dilrukshi Handunneththi. 

Workshops

DragonflySouthAsia Meets​

These meets are the annual gathering of Odonata enthusiasts under the banner of DragonflySouthAsia community. We conduct them as semi-structured scientific meetings and a workshops on Odonata while promoting citizen science.

I joined the meets in 2015 and contributed as a resource person in the following meets. 
2018: Melghat Tiger Reserve, Maharashtra
2019: Dhamapur, Sindhudurg, Maharashtra

​Read more about the meets. 2016. 2017. 2018. 2019. 

Field Workshops on Sri Lankan Odonata

First ever Field Workshop on Sri Lankan Dragonflies was held in 2016. This was organized by the Butterfly Conservation Society (BCSSL) and was conduced in Sinharaja Forest Reserve.

The second Field Workshop on Sri Lankan Dragonflies by the BCSSL was organized in 2020 with the financial support of Rufford Foundation.  This was also held at Sinharaja Forest Reserve. 

Online Webinars and Talks

Online Lecture: Climate Change and Odonata Conservation
Organized by the DragonflySouthAsia

Online Lecture: Biodiversity and Industrial Practices
Organized by the Eco Business Management Degree Program, University of Sabaragamuwa and Hayleys PLC.