City Butterfly Watch launched
Wednesday 15th June
Wildlife in the City is asking residents to keep an eye out for butterflies this summer.
Following on from the successful ‘Amphibians in the City’, which asked residents to report sightings of frogs, toads and newts, the new Wildlife in the City's ‘Butterfly Watch’ is aiming to build a record of butterflies in Nottingham.
The new initiative is part of the our Wildlife in the City project, a 3-year partnership with Nottingham City Council, encouraging local people to discover more about the green spaces around them.
Butterfly Map
The results of Butterfly Watch will be available live online on the Wildlife in the City page (click on the 'Campaign Map' tab), with an interactive map showing which butterflies have been spotted where - throughout June, July and August.
On this page, we also have a new factsheet to download, to help eager spotters identify their butterflies, as well as fun butterfly colouring sheets (click on the 'Factsheets' tab).
Click to view a photo gallery of our favourite butterfly species on Facebook
"Interesting species"
“We’re interested in sightings from anywhere in the city area,” said Lucy Wallington, Wildlife in the City Project Officer.
“That may be your garden, local park, allotment or any of our city nature reserves. It will be really interesting to see the spread of activity across the city. There are so many interesting species which we hope will be spotted, including the common blue and the comma butterfly. We’re really keen for as many people to take part as possible; it could be a really fun family activity for those long summer days”.
To submit your sightings, visit http://bit.ly/butterflywatch
FREE BUTTERFLY IDENTIFICATION EVENT
For those who want to learn more about butterflies, the Wildlife in the City team are holding a free Butterfly Identification Day on Sunday 26th June, 10am – 2pm, at Sandy Banks, Beckhampton Road, Bestwood Estate. This will be a chance to find out about butterflies that can be found in Nottingham. A butterfly expert will be on hand to explain how to identify species. Those attending should bring a packed lunch.
Further information can be found by emailing or calling the Wildlife in the City team on 0115 958 8242
Wildlife in the City is supported by Natural England through Access to Nature, as part of the Big Lottery Fund's Changing Spaces programme.
