THE BIG BUTTERFLY COUNT (From St Albans & Harpenden Review)

THE BIG BUTTERFLY COUNT

8:32pm Sunday 25th July 2010

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As I walked through Marks & Spencers yesterday I was stopped by a couple of pretty smiley girls and asked if I wanted to help butterflies – well who wouldn’t, not if you care about the world we live in and quality of life. In conjunction with the national ‘Big Butterfly Count’ M&S are doing their bit to get people interested. I was given a leaflet with an ID chart inside which showed in full colour over twenty of our most common butterflies and moths. This is all part of a survey to mark the International Year of Biodiversity. Butterflies are an invaluable biodiversity indicator as they react very quickly to change and a decline in their numbers can be an early warning for other losses in wildlife.

The idea is that we go into our garden, a local park or field on a bright and sunny day to record how many different types of butterflies we see in just 15 minutes. Then log onto www.bigbutterflycount.org where this information will help to show how many butterflies are around and is a way of assessing the health of the countryside. All the information collected will provide a valuable insight into ways of not only protecting our butterflies but helping the environment for us all to enjoy.

The scheme is running between 24th July and 1st August – so why not take part?