A woman from Bratton Clovelly near Okehampton has received an Outstanding Volunteer Award from a national wildlife charity.

Butterfly Conservation (BC) presented Jenny Evans with the honour in recognition of her work for BC’s Devon Branch, where she volunteers in three separate roles. She currently runs the Branch website, leads guided walks for members of the public and organises and carries out butterfly surveys.

These monitoring schemes are crucial in helping BC measure how butterflies and moths are doing in the UK and the results can inform scientific research and future conservation projects.

Jenny said: “I’ve had a lifelong interest in wildlife and as a small child I would rear butterflies and moths from the caterpillars I found in my parents garden. I’ve been volunteering for Butterfly Conservation for years now and receiving this award was a lovely surprise.”

Chairman of BC’s Devon Branch, Barry Henwood said: “It’s great to see Jenny receive recognition for her hard work because she contributes so much of her free time to the Branch. Her efforts to recruit and train new volunteers for survey work have allowed us to keep a close eye on all the butterflies found in Devon and ensure that we are helping the species which really need it.”

Anyone can volunteer for Butterfly Conservation Devon, or any one of our other Branches across the UK.