WEST WORCESTERSHIRE MP Dame Harriett Baldwin praised the work of conservationists working to bring native butterflies back to the Malvern Hills.
The MP visited a project which is helping to return the Pearl-bordered Fritillary butterfly to a number of sites across the Malvern Hills and she helped to release mature butterflies on to south facing slopes of bracken and violets which the caterpillar feasts on.
The conservation project is being led by Mel Mason from West Midlands Butterfly Conservation and the volunteers are working with experts from the Malvern Hills Trust and All Things Wild, in Evesham, to carry out the work.
Dame Harriett said: “The Pearl-bordered Fritillary butterfly has been missing from the Malvern Hills since last century, and this specialist conservation project is doing amazing work returning a native species to the natural landscape.
“It was great to learn more about this project and meet with Mel and the team who are doing amazing work releasing these beautiful butterflies onto the hills.
“Malvern Hills Trust does important work preserving the hills for future generations and this is exactly the sort of work that we should recognise and support.”
Mel added: “Butterflies are very good indicators of the health of our environment but we have lost seven species around the Malverns in the last 40 years.
“We are trying to show that we can counter the local and national decline in biodiversity by working with local landowners to modify the habitat management, connect nearby sites together and bring back one of our most at-risk UK species of butterfly.”
