Young nature lovers held a Big Butterfly Count in the centre of Manchester and helped more than 100 people connect with nature.

Manchester Climate Change Youth Board staged the event at Mayfield Park yesterday afternoon with staff and volunteers from Butterfly Conservation, the charity behind the Big Butterfly Count.

The team recorded butterflies and moths around the park and spoke to dozens of passing families, commuters and students about the Count to encourage them to take part.

Jessica Bennet from the youth board, who is also studying Animal Behaviour and Conservation at Manchester Metropolitan University, said: “We were absolutely delighted with how many people came along to help count butterflies and moths. We had adults and children from a diverse range of backgrounds and cultures, and lots of people said that they hadn’t explored green spaces like Mayfield Park right on their doorstep.
“Citizen science schemes like the Big Butterfly Count are an amazing opportunity to get the wellbeing benefits of spending time in nature, especially for people from backgrounds that mean they may not have interacted with wildlife before. When you love something you’re more motivated to protect it, so it was my goal is to connect individuals from Greater Manchester with our pollinators.”

Jessica added: “I’m motivated by the event’s impact; attendees asking to take home their guides to log more observations from their gardens and balconies. Sharing the event online has also given me the platform to create awareness for the environmental work in the North West.”

Butterfly Conservation’s Big Butterfly Count is a national citizen science scheme that asks people to spend 15 minutes counting butterflies and moths.

Worryingly, last year’s results were the lowest in the 14-year history of the Count, leading Butterfly Conservation to declare a Butterfly Emergency in the UK.

Since the 1970s, 80% of the UK’s native butterfly species have declined, largely because of habitat loss, pesticide use and pollution. Butterfly Conservation works with landowners, farmers and government across the country to protect the most vulnerable species.

Data from the Big Butterfly Count provides a snapshot of how species are doing which helps Butterfly Conservation monitor trends and plan conservation work.

This year’s Count launched on July 18 and closes at the end of the day this Sunday.

To take part, people can download a free app and spend just 15 minutes counting butterflies and moths in their garden, at a park or even in Manchester city centre.

One person who joined the event at Mayfield Park said: “I didn’t know about this park until this event, so it’s good to find a new green space.” Another said: “We saw lots of Small Whites, it was really interesting.”

Butterfly Conservation Youth Engagement Officer Emma Dakin, who joined the event at Mayfield Park, said: “There are just a few days left to join this year’s Big Butterfly Count and we would encourage everyone in Manchester to give it a go. It’s so easy and fun to do, you can do it with friends and family, but it’s also hugely valuable to Butterfly Conservation.
“Butterflies and moths in the UK are really struggling and the data we get from the Big Butterfly Count helps us to help butterflies – but the species we monitor are also valuable environmental indicators because they are important parts of the ecosystem, so this work also helps a huge variety of other wildlife at the same time.”