The Big Butterfly Count

If you are living in Britain or Northern Island what better excuse to get outdoors than to take part in the Big Butterfly Count – a nationwide survey run by the ‘Butterfly Conservation’ charity.

Butterflies react very quickly to change in their environment which makes them excellent biodiversity indicators. The count will also identify trends in species that will help them plan how to protect butterflies from extinction as well as understand the effect of climate change on wildlife.

If you want to take part, simply print out the free Butterfly Identification Chart, and count butterflies for 15 minutes during bright (preferably sunny) weather from 24th July to 1st August. You can then log your findings on the bigbutterflycount website.