People across the UK are being invited to take part in this year’s Big Butterfly Count, running from 18 July to 10 August. In Cleethorpes, new Coastal Ranger Josh Forrester will lead two free events to help locals identify and count butterflies along the coast.
The first event will be on 18 July at Humberston Fitties Sea Defence from 10am to 12pm, meeting at Anthony’s Bank car park. The second will be on 21 July at Cleethorpes Country Park, also from 10am to 12pm.
The Big Butterfly Count encourages people to spend 15 minutes counting butterflies in sunny weather. This citizen science initiative tracks butterfly numbers as an indicator of environmental health, with significant declines seen since the 1970s.
Participants can join the organised events or simply count butterflies in gardens, parks, fields, and woodlands. Those counting from a fixed spot should record the highest number of each species seen at one time, while walkers should tally each butterfly spotted during their 15-minute count.
Image credit: Stock.adobe.com/Maridav
