Butterfly Conservation have an urgent appeal which I wanted to share with you.  It comes following the State of the UK’s Butterflies 2022 Report, which says that 80% of butterflies have decreased since the 1970s.

And scientists have issued a stark warning:  time is running out to save the UK’s butterflies.   We can turn this situation around, but we need to act urgently.

Butterflies are an integral part of the eco-system and the good news is that the report confirms that Butterfly Conservation’s projects make real change but the charity want to do more:

• Fund more expert research
• Expand its advice services rapidly
• Keep inspiring the next generation of butterfly and moth enthusiasts

It’s crucial to ensure that butterflies and moths  have the space they need to thrive.

If you can’t donate, please spread the word about this appeal. 

Other actions you can take to help butterflies include:

Get gardening!

Creating wild spaces for butterflies and moths at home, by planting butterfly-friendly plants and flowers in your garden or on a balcony or patio, in school grounds, village greens, roadside verges, and streets.  You can register your wild space with Butterfly Conservation.  There's a list of butterfly friendly plants and flowers here 

Please don’t use insecticides and pesticides or peat compost – find out why here.

Get busy monitoring and recording butterflies and moths

Tell Butterfly Conservation about the butterflies you see – monitoring and recording butterflies is really important, as it helps build up a picture of how butterflies are doing and what action is needed where.  Be a citizen scientist for butterflies!

Join in the National Moth Recording Scheme, which is a huge resource gathered by thousands of volunteer recorders.  It’s used to conserve threatened moths and increase scientific understanding of why moths have declined and improve public awareness                                                           

Join in the Garden Butterfly Survey – tell Butterfly Conservation about the butterflies you see in your garden throughout the year.  There’s also the Big Butterfly Count from mid-July to early August

Become a member!

You could become a member of Butterfly Conservation  - you’ll receive a welcome pack with membership cards, essential advice on gardening for butterflies and leaflets to help you identify butterflies, moths and caterpillars.  It also includes Butterfly magazine three times a year, a monthly e-newsletter with the latest news, membership of your local branch with regular newsletters and invites to local guided walks, talks, conservation action days and social events.  And you’ll have the knowledge you’re helping to support Butterfly Conservation!

Donate to Butterfly Conservation

Donations can help (and I quote from the appeal information I received through the post)

• £10.00 could help buy plug plants to create the habitats anad butterflies and moths need to survive
• £25.00 could help create habitat case studies to show landowners which species can thrive on their land
• £100.00 could provide specialist training to volunteers, helping them protect vulnerable species
• £500.00 could fund research into how to mitigate the effects of climate change for endangered species.

All donations help fund vital conservation work.   Butterfly Conservation says that targeted conservation action works, and that the recording and monitoring of UK butterflies is key. 

Flutter off to Butterfly Conservation here