Butterfly Conservation has launched a three-year project in East Kent to help save and celebrate some of the UK’s rarest and most beautiful moths. The project will also offer opportunities for people to engage with these moths and overturn prejudice’s about moths being small, brown, night-flying pests.
East Kent is home to the greatest concentration of rare and threatened moth species in the UK, but moths remain a mystery to many people.
Threats in this part of England include:
- Development pressure
- Changing land management
- Limited resources
- Climate change.
Our project will engage, surprise, and inspire communities, revealing the array of amazing moths on their doorstep and helping East Kent to value and conserve these fascinating creatures.
As the biggest ever moth conservation project in the UK, this project will help to make a significant, positive impact with both local species and helping to contribute to a boost in our UK moth populations. Over the next three years the project will support and upskill people to encourage a long-lasting legacy.
Key species
- Black-veined Moth
- Bright Wave
- Fiery Clearwing
- Fisher’s Estuarine Moth
- Marsh Mallow Moth
- Sussex Emerald
- Straw Belle
- White-spotted Sable (Anania funebris)
Delivery Plan
Over the next three years the dedicated team will partner with local schools, farmers, and an array of community groups and organisations to improve habitats across the county, whilst transforming lives through improving participant’s wellbeing. This includes: Canterbury City Council, Natural England, RSPB, White Cliffs Countryside Partnership and Kent Downs ANOB.
One of the ways in which Magnificent Moths will do this is to grow foodplants for specific species, including Wild Carrot, Hog’s Fennel, and Marsh Mallow, and incorporate them into gardens and outdoor spaces hopefully resulting in these moths breeding in new ranges.
This conservation work will be coupled with many moth events over the next few years, from practical habitat work for those wanting to get stuck in and get outdoors, to close encounters of the UK rarest species whilst encouraging community celebration of local moths through art, cakes and other creative means.
We’d love to encourage people to get involved in the project so please follow the social media icons below to keep up to date with the project and find opportunities to help in your area.
Twitter: @BCKentBranch
Instagram: @kentbutterflies
Facebook: ButterflyConservationKent
Project Acknowledgements
We are very grateful to National Lottery players and the National Lottery Heritage Fund for allowing us to deliver this project.
Contacts
Engagement Officer: Emma Pestridge (@email)
Conservation Officer: Rebecca Levey (@email)