Join Joanna Lumley counting butterflies
On Thursday, a rather glamorous celebrity guest popped into WWT London Wetland Centre and spent the morning admiring our butterflies!
Screen legend and passionate environmental campaigner Joanna Lumley was at WWT London Wetland Centre to officially launch the Big Butterfly Count 2013 which runs from 20 July until 11 August.
Joanna is encouraging everyone to get out and about and report butterfly sightings to Butterfly Conservation, to go into a national record which can be used to determine whether populations are growing or declining.
Sir David Attenborough, President of Butterfly Conservation explained: "The washout weather of 2012 proved a disaster for our butterflies; these conditions, coupled with long-term declines, means there are probably fewer butterflies in the UK than at any point during my lifetime.
"Butterflies are vitally important. Their presence acts as a barometer of the health of our environment. Their ongoing decline tells us that all is not well in the British countryside. Future generations may not be lucky enough to see butterflies in the same numbers we will experience this summer.
"But, it is not too late. You can help ensure that butterflies still bring that sense of magic to our summertime by taking part in the Big Butterfly Count. The Count will tell us if butterflies are recovering after a terrible year and it lets us know how they are faring in our back gardens, parks, fields, towns and cities."
As well as sharing a founder – Sir Peter Scott – with Butterfly Conservation, WWT also shares a love of this beautiful little insect that is such a quintessential part of the English Summer.
Butterflies have long been a childhood favourite and form some of our earliest memories of nature. But they need our help if butterflies are to remain a long-term feature of our gardens.
If you’re interested in taking part in the Big Butterfly Count, WWT Wetland Centres are great places to start. Many centres also have specially created habitats that attract butterflies and other insects, as well as butterfly and minibeast walks and talks.
This summer all nine WWT Wetland Centres are giving out free spotter sheets (ask at the admissions desk) so you can have a truly worthwhile day out by recording the butterflies you see and reporting your findings to Butterfly Conservation.
