Northern Ireland news

Controversial plans to build a golf course on one of Scotland’s last undeveloped dune systems have suffered a significant set-back this week. Planning Officers from Highland Council have recommended the plans be refused by the North Planning Applications Committee at its 6 December meeting, a move welcomed by the Conservation Coalition campaigning to save Coul Links.

We are thrilled to announce that Dr Amir Khan has joined Butterfly Conservation as one of its Vice Presidents.

 

The Butterfly Conservation Summer Raffle has now come to an end and the winning tickets have been drawn! Were you one of the lucky winners?

Give yourself or a loved one the gift of craft this Christmas with a Jersey Tiger moth needle felting kit from The Makerss. With a live craft along at 10am on 20 January 2024, treat yourself or someone special, all whilst helping to secure the future of the UK’s butterflies and moths.  

Natural England has today launched a new “super” National Nature Reserve across the Mendip Hills which marks the second in the new King’s Series of National Nature Reserves committed to enhancing biodiversity and Nature recovery.

By leaving a gift in your Will, you’ll ensure your legacy can contribute to a solution to the climate crisis, creating an environment that nurtures butterflies and moths for future generations to enjoy.

On Thursday, 28th September, some of the Butterfly Conservation team joined representatives from over 40 environmental NGOs to protest outside the Defra offices, demanding more action to Restore Nature Now.

Moths and butterflies amongst UK wildlife in decline, State of Nature 2023 report reveals.

Butterfly Conservation has recorded over 40 sightings of the rare Downland Plume moth in an area of the Chilterns in recent months.

New research shows neonicotinoid pesticides are threatening the UK’s wildlife, including butterflies and moths.

The Black-veined Moth has seen a bumper year in East Kent thanks to the restoration efforts of local famers.

The results of the Big Butterfly Count 2023 are in, revealing a better picture for butterflies than had been feared. However, new 13-year trend figures show a worrying long-term decline.

Butterfly Conservation has been awarded a share of £14.5 million by Natural England to help recover butterflies and moths in Northamptonshire.

Northern Brown Argus discovered in Stirlingshire after 100 year absence.

Help us to save one of South East England’s key habitats for the Small Pearl-bordered, and the Pearl-bordered Fritillary.

Butterfly Conservation has reported a record number of caterpillar webs have been found during an annual survey at Lankham Bottom in West Dorset.

Butterfly Conservation has revealed a huge surge in sightings of the Red Admiral, a migrant species of butterfly, as the Big Butterfly Count enters its final week.

Butterfly Conservation is today calling on people across the UK to take part in this year’s Big Butterfly Count (14 July - 6 August) to help scientists understand the impact of climate change on our most-loved butterflies.

Butterflies need your help more than ever, says Jo Bower, Communications Manager at Butterfly Conservation, which is why it’s so important to take part in the Big Butterfly Count this year. 

Urgent action to save Wales's most vulnerable species, including the High Brown Fritillary, is set to get underway this summer, thanks to the players of the National Lottery.

Butterfly Conservation has received lots of fantastic messages from people who are seeing the extinct Black-veined White butterfly in south-east London. 

Butterfly Conservation is hosting its third Kent-wide Big Moth Safari week celebrating moths on 17^th- 24^th June.

A new and exciting conservation project called Species on the Edge will launch at a free family fun day event hosted by Butterfly Conservation Scotland at Logie Quarry, near Tain, on Saturday 3 June.

New research published by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) reveals how the UK's gardens are acting as a safe haven for butterflies.

A new report on the trends of grassland butterflies across Europe has shown numbers have declined by 36% over the last decade.

If you have been following the saga of Coul Links in East Sutherland you will know that the original proposal for a golf course was turned down by the Scottish Government. In July last year another application was submitted. Here's an update on our objection.

A new study, published today by the science journal PNAS, has found that increased use of pesticides and fertiliser is driving bird population declines across the UK and Europe. 

Plymouth, UK - Pollenize, a local environmental organisation, has launched its Pesticide Free Plymouth campaign, aimed at reducing the use of pesticides in the city to protect pollinators and promote biodiversity.
 

Dr Nigel Bourn, Chief Scientist at Butterfly Conservation, has been a conservationist his entire life and spent the last five decades studying butterflies. 

Every five years or so, since the start of the century, Butterfly Conservation and its partners have produced an up-to-date assessment of the changing fortunes of the UK’s butterfly species. The latest such assessment, The State of the UK’s Butterflies 20221, was published in February and contains long-term trends derived from countrywide citizen science schemes involving tens of thousands of participants.