MALVERN Hills Trust is encouraging residents far and wide to take part in a nature campaign to count and identify butterflies in your garden or local green spaces.
The Big Butterfly Count – organised by the Butterfly Conservation charity – is a nationwide citizen science survey aimed at helping assess the health of our environment and the Malvern Hills Trust wants everyone to get involved.
The survey, which relaunched this year on July 1, began in 2010 with the main event for 2023 taking place from July 14 to August 6.
Participants can join in by downloading a butterfly chart to help identify different species and counts can be added via a dedicated app or on the conservation charity’s website.
In 2022, over 64,000 citizen scientists took part, submitting 96,257 counts of butterflies and day-flying moths from across the UK.
An interactive map is also available online to see how your’s and others’ data is contributing to conservation science and research.
A spokesperson for the trust said: “The Big Butterfly Count is on.
“Spend 15 minutes in nature counting butterflies and day flying moths.
“Whether taking part in your garden or local green space, your count helps build a picture of the state of our environment.”
Dr Zoë Randle, senior surveys officer at Butterfly Conservation said: “This is a vital year for the Big Butterfly Count.
“We know that the previous extreme summer droughts in 1976 and 1995 took a heavy toll on butterflies and numbers crashed the following year, taking almost a decade to recover.
“The data collected during this year’s Big Butterfly Count will give us a valuable insight into what the effect of the most recent extreme weather has been, and how we might be able to better protect our beautiful butterflies.
“With climate change here to stay, we need people to take part more than ever before.”
President of Butterfly Conservation, Sir David Attenborough said: “A few precious moments spent watching a stunning Red Admiral or Peacock butterfly feeding amongst the flowers in my garden never fails to bring me great pleasure.”
Visit: https://bigbutterflycount.butterfly-conservation.org/about for more information.
