Can you help with the Big Butterfly Count?

This week marks the start of the Big Butterfly Count, organised by The Butterfly Conservation Trust. 

Running from July 17 to August 9, the annual event encourages everyone to spend just 15 minutes recording the butterflies they see, helping to build a national picture of how these important pollinators are faring. 

We always support this initiative at the Countryside Regeneration Trust, along with carrying out our own butterfly transact surveys throughout the year across our farms. 

You can download a helpful chart here here and to join in, you just need to choose a place to spot butterflies and moths and watch for 15 minutes before uploading your results. 
 
To celebrate the start of the count, our team at Bere Marsh Farm in Dorset is dedicating this week's Friday Farm Walk to butterflies. There couldn't be a better time to visit. Mill Mead, which was sown with a diverse wildflower mix, is now bursting with colour. Knapweed and Scabious is flowering particularly well, attracting plenty of butterflies. 

One of the farm's experienced volunteers, Bruce, will guide visitors around the farm, helping participants identify species using butterfly identification sheets. Together, the group hopes to carry out an informal survey. 

The farm walk is free and no booking required. The route is accessible but please do contact Charlotte, our community officer, to discuss your needs on 07908 255770. 

Across our other farms, our conservation officers carry out many butterfly surveys. 

At Lark Rise Farm in Cambridgeshire, Dr Vince Lea recently spotted 462 butterflies, made up of 18 species, at Westfield, which is land threatened by the East West Rail project. He saw 103 meadow browns, 86 gatekeepers and 59 Essex skippers. He also saw a clouded yellow, which he said are becoming increasingly common with climate change. 

Earlier in June, one of Lark Rise Farm’s volunteers Trevor carried out a survey in Barton and saw the first marbled whites of the year, which is always one of the highlights of the butterfly season. 

In recent years, butterfly numbers have fallen with numbers suffering in 2024 and 2025. 

Helena Darragh, the CRT's Head of Conservation, said: "Butterfly numbers in 2026 have generally been higher than in recent years, with hundreds observed across CRT properties in recent months, and many coming out earlier than April, which is the formal start of the survey season. 

"Thanks to the southerly winds and heatwave summer we’ve had so far, this has been a rare year where numerous Painted Ladies have been observed in Britain."