Big Butterfly Count 2016

Common blue butterfly (© Jenny Craig)

It’s summer so it’s time to get out into gardens, parks and countryside to look for butterflies and count them for this year’s Big Butterfly Count! These annual surveys are run by Butterfly Conservation and map the distribution of butterflies and moths in the UK to inform us about changes in the environment. Doing a count at one location only takes 15 minutes, then you can add your results online and see them appear on the map! The survey began on 15 July and runs until 7 August (counts can be submitted online up till the end of August). This year’s survey is important to indicate how butterflies have been affected by a run of cooler and wetter than average weather. See Big Butterfly Count website for more info, butterfly id chart, results map and free smartphone app…

Cotgrave Forest -area project

The Rushcliffe Nature Conservation Strategy Implementation Group are looking at the feasibility of running a project in and around the Cotgrave Forest area in line with the principles of Landscape scale conservation, That is not concentrating on an individual site or reserve but the wider landscape. RNCSIG are using the Cotgrave Forest as a center piece for this project as it supports populations of some more unusual butterflies and it is felt that there is potential to improve links to other wooded areas. For more about this follow this link to an article Cotgrave Forest article Jun16   and also this flyer  Cotgrave Forest Project Flyer May 2016.

If you are at all interested please get in touch.