A new crew of wildlife champions will lead work to save Northern Ireland’s rarest and most endangered butterflies and moths, through PeacePlus Nature.
The team from Butterfly Conservation will aim to raise awareness of and help protect specialist species such as the Marsh Fritillary, Small Blue and Irish Plume Moth.
Hazel Long and Lucy Jackson, the first two members of the butterfly brigade, are targeting their work in the limestone grasslands of County Fermanagh as part of PeacePlus Nature.
Butterfly Conservation has received £740,000 of PEACEPLUS funding, and over the next three years. Lucy, Hazel and their colleagues will work with farmers, landowners, and volunteers in the County Fermanagh to get more people involved in the conservation of some of the country’s wild crown jewels.
Hazel who is the project’s Engagement and Volunteering officer, said. “The saying that we don’t know what’s on our own doorstep rings true! Are you really observing the beauty and magnificence of nature and what we’ve got in our own back yard? I would encourage folk to get outdoors, particularly during Big Butterfly Count, to study and to look at the butterflies flying past – you will be amazed at how absorbed you can get.”
The project’s conservation work will be focused on Fermanagh’s precious but threatened limestone grassland. This habitat is home to numerous special species such as Cryptic Wood White – a butterfly which, in the UK, is only found in Northern Ireland. However, over recent generations limestone grassland has been overtaken by trees and scrub, partly because farming practices have changed and fewer sheep and cows are grazed there.
Through PeacePlus Nature, the Butterfly Conservation team will recruit butterfly volunteers in Fermanagh who can help them to survey Limestone Grassland around the county, then undertake practical conservation work to maintain and improve it.
Lucy, the project’s Limestone Grassland Landscape Officer, will lead much of this hands-on practical work.
She said: “I’ve always had a huge fondness for Irish wildlife, and that includes butterflies and moths, so being able to help conserve some of Northern Ireland’s rarest species is incredibly exciting.
“Fermanagh’s limestone grasslands are home to remarkable wildlife including the Small Blue, Irish Plume, Marsh Fritillary and Dingy Skipper, and protecting these habitats helps support a whole web of life. I’m really passionate about helping keep Fermanagh rich, diverse and full of wildlife now and for future generations, and I hope our work inspires others to get involved and discover just how special even the species and habitats on their doorsteps are.”
The Butterfly Conservation will work with a host of other organisations including the RSPB, Ulster Wildlife, NIEA, Forest Service NI, Cuilcagh Lakeland Geopark, BugLife and the Northern Ireland Moth Committee.