Dragonfly Nature Programs is a small, locally owned business, working out of Holly Springs, NC. As an active community member and advocate for environmental stewardship, owner, Rachel Woods, enjoys making time for projects that positively impact the environment both locally & globally. Scroll down to learn more about the projects Rachel & Dragonfly Nature Programs have been involved with.
Suburban Wildlife Series
In 2025, Dragonfly Nature Programs initiated a collaboration with the Great Raleigh Cleanup, hosting family nature studies/litter cleanup events. This was a chance to pull more volunteers into the the important work of the Great Raleigh Cleanup and a chance to educate the public on the value of protecting our shared natural spaces. So far we’ve held two events: Mammals of Suburbia and Nesting in Suburbia and look forward to more opportunities for collaboration.
NCSU Turtle Rescue Team Foster Parenting
Since 2016, Rachel has cared for nearly thirty injured turtles, (mostly sliders and box turtles) to support the efforts of NCSU’s Turtle Rescue Team. This volunteer coalition sees that injured turtles (predominately hit by vehicles) are rehabbed, nourished and returned to where they are found.
Community Festivals
Each event we attend is an opportunity to see students outside of school, meet new people, connect with other environmental groups and educate the public. We have hosted booths at Harris Lake’s Longleaf Pine Festival, at Arbor Day events with We Plant it Forward and at the Town of Holly Springs’ Wild About Nature Day at Sugg Farm. We have finally matriculated enough students through our program, they now come back to work these events for us!
Dragonfly Nature Programs participates in Citizen Science Projects
What is Citizen Science?
Citizen Science Projects utilize the time, expertise and energy of the general public who volunteer to collect data for various projects, both locally and worldwide. Since Rachel took ownership of Dragonfly in 2015, she has been actively involved in various projects.
Nest Watch at Harris Lake County Park since 2022
Rachel volunteered her time once a week during the spring and early summer of 2022 to watch 12 bird nesting boxes at her “home” park, Harris Lake. This absolutely wonderful park provides a natural buffer for wildlife and humans in our rapidly developing county and offers fantastic educational programming to the public. They also monitor wildlife species, maintaining dozens and dozens of bird nesting boxes onsite. This year Rachel monitored bluebird, screech owl and wood duck boxes. The weekly experience was a terrific excuse to bird and get outside while assisting an important cause.
The City Nature Challenge-Annually
Along with over 40,000 other people, Rachel logs pictures of wildlife into the iNaturalist app to help scientists collect information about species diversity and abundance worldwide. Along with logging data, Rachel also helped to identify the photos of others through iNaturalist.
Nature’s Notebook
As part of the National Phenology Network, our after school students, Citizen Naturalists have contributed year-over-year data about the seasonal changes plants and animals undergo. We’ve contributed data about deciduous trees and bumblebees. In addition, we have participated in the Lost Ladybug Project, The Great Backyard Bird Count and Nest Watch.
The Town of Holly Springs Tree Advisory Committee
The Tree Advisory Committee along with town council members at our first Arbor Day celebration where we planted 3 native serviceberry trees at Ting park. Rachel is second from the left.
Rachel Woods served as the chairperson for the Town of Holly Springs tree advisory committee from 2019-2022. The committee met monthly to advise the town about the importance of maintaining the urban forest in Holly Springs and expanding it. Their work included hosting tree care programs for residents, sponsoring tree giveaways, advising the town council on local tree ordinances and supporting street tree care.
You can also enjoy the Tree ID Hiking Trail we installed in 2021 at Bass Lake Park off of Bass Lake Road in Holly Springs.
Holly Springs NC became a Tree City USA in 2019.
If you have a project you think Dragonfly Nature Programs could be a part of, contact Rachel through email or on any of our social media accounts. Links for those accounts are below.