Durham’s butterflies need help – will you join the butterfly rescue mission?

Butterfly Conservation has launched a nationwide rescue mission for the UK’s butterflies and needs the people of Durham to get involved! Last summer, Durham’s butterflies sent an urgent SOS through Butterfly Conservation’s Big Butterfly Count, with citizen scientists in Durham spotting only 7,360 butterflies and day-flying moths during the three-week period.

These results were echoed up and down the UK, with the wildlife charity declaring a nationwide Butterfly Emergency after the marked and deeply concerning decline in butterfly numbers, which were the lowest in the Big Butterfly Count’s history.

The 2024 figures follow a pattern of long-term decline as butterflies struggle against a backdrop of habitat degradation, climate breakdown and pesticide use.

That’s why this year, Butterfly Conservation is not just launching a citizen science survey — they are launching a nationwide rescue mission and need the people of Durham to get involved.

No lab coats. No science degrees. Just 15 minutes of your time.

In 2024, people across Durham did 189 Big Butterfly Counts, with the Large White taking the top spot for most seen species. This year, Butterfly Conservation’s Big Butterfly Count launched on Friday 18 July and runs until 10 August, and they’re calling on thousands of everyday heroes across Durham, from schoolkids to grandparents, dog walkers, hikers, even office workers on their lunch break, to take part.

Worryingly, 80% of butterflies have declined since the 1970s. These delicate icons of summer respond quickly to environmental change, making their decline a powerful warning sign of a planet in peril.

The good news? There is hope. With just 15 minutes of your time, you can help protect UK butterfly species for future generations.

The mission?

Spend 15 minutes in any outdoor space and count the butterflies and day-flying moths you see and submit your sightings to help build our interactive map.

That’s it. One small action that contributes to a much bigger effort to help save butterfly species and the ecosystems they support.

Dr Richard Fox, Head of Science at Butterfly Conservation says: “This is a chance to turn curiosity into conservation and make a real contribution to protecting butterflies in the UK for generations to come. Butterflies are beautiful, yes — but they’re also incredibly important bioindicators. This means that as they continue to disappear, as they have over recent decades, it indicates something is going seriously wrong in our natural world. We need to heed that warning and take action before it’s too late.

“If we lose butterflies, we lose more than beauty — we lose balance in our ecosystems and that will have serious repercussions for wildlife in the UK. Taking part in the Big Butterfly Count only takes 15 minutes and it’s something everybody in Durham can do. If you do one thing for nature this year, get out for the Count this summer! – Every count really does make a difference.”

Whether you see a Red Admiral, a Common Blue, or an entire kaleidoscope of Meadow Browns, your sightings provide vital data that help scientists understand where butterflies are thriving, struggling, or shifting due to habitat loss or restoration.

And by taking part, you’re doing more than logging data — you're standing up for nature. Your observations will help add Durham’s butterflies to a live map of UK biodiversity, visible in real-time through the Big Butterfly Count website and free app.

How to Take Part

1. Download the free Big Butterfly Count app or visit www.bigbutterflycount.org

2. Between 18 July and 10 August, spend 15 minutes in any outdoor space and count the number and type of butterflies you see

3. Log your sightings on the website or app and help protect UK wildlife for future generations

Become a citizen scientist. Be part of the comeback. Help bring butterflies and wild spaces in Durham and across the UK back to life.