David Attenborough here to launch Big Butterfly Count
“Citizen science is a great thing. The results of Big Butterfly Count build year on year and they’re invaluable. Not only is it useful, it’s fun!” So said Sir David Attenborough here today, kicking off this year’s Butterfly Conservation Big Butterfly Count. London Wetland Centre is a great location for the launch when you consider it’s where people and wildlife come face to face on a scale like no other wildlife reserve in the UK. Eight million people call London home, but so do many species of butterfly. So it’s the perfect spot to launch this annual project which encourages people to count butterflies in order to gauge how they’re faring year to year.
And it’s not just butterflies that makes us so special for Sir David, “London Wetland Centre is such a success and all of us in West London love you! There’s always something new to see. Like the kingfishers, the fact that you can see them right here is amazing.”
Pick up your free Big Butterfly Count spotter sheet here, throughout the summer. Butterfly Conservation and London Wetland Centre have been jointly recording butterflies for almost 20 years now and 30 species have been counted at the Centre. And so far 2014 has been an excellent year with species such as Large Skippers, Orange Tip and Common Blue all doing well. And some notable species seen so far are a White Admiral and a Green Hairstreak.
So help us to help butterflies by taking part in the Butterfly Conservation Big Butterfly Count this summer; ask for your free spotter sheet when you arrive.
