Butterfly Conservation is a UK charity dedicated to saving butterflies, moths, and the natural environment. It is a leading authority on the conservation of these beautiful creatures, working towards a world where butterflies and moths thrive and can be enjoyed by everyone forever.
Their conservation approach combines data and evidence with research on what is driving changing populations to promote best practice habitat management, building partnerships and supporting volunteers to take an active role in nature recovery. Thriving populations of butterflies and moths demonstrate that ecosystems are functioning and that landscapes are resilient to changing land use and climate, providing the evidence of success for broader nature recovery.
Peatland habitats are vital ecosystems that store large amounts of carbon, provide water regulation, and are havens for rare wildlife. Making Peatlands Work for Lepidoptera is a collaboration with partners delivering nature-based solutions in peatland landscapes across northern England to investigate and improve the way habitat restoration also supports threatened species.
Over three years, this project will explore how peatland restoration supports threatened wildlife, including the Large Heath butterfly and the Dark Bordered Beauty moth. Butterfly Conservation will develop an action plan for Large Heath throughout its English range, carry out surveys and habitat assessments with the help of trained volunteers, and engage local communities in citizen science and nature recovery actions. For the Dark Bordered Beauty moth, which is confined to just a single English site, the suitability of potential reintroduction sites will be assessed, and a captive breeding programme will be started to establish the population in new areas to secure its future.
Year 1 Update – Summer 2026
It’s been a brilliant first survey season for the project. With the help of all the sunny weather and the incredible number of volunteers and partner organisations involved, we’ve surveyed over 80 sites across the North of England. Many sites were surveyed for Large Heath for the first time in over 25 years including Skiddaw (believed to be the highest known English colony at 460-470meters), RAF’s Spadeadam (Cumbria) and sites in Northumberland such as Bewick Moor, Hepple Estate & College Valley Estate.
We also had a very exciting discovery of Dark-bordered Beauty moth at a Northumberland site, which is now the second only site in England where the species can be found. It was last recorded there in 1952 and gives us new hope for the future of this species. You can read more about the rediscovery here: Conservationist describes ‘highlight of his career’ rediscovering rare moth colony after 70 years | Butterfly Conservation
Some stats from the team:
- 83 volunteers (including students from Lancaster & Newcastle universities) & 42 partner organisation staff trained in species identification and survey techniques.
- 101 registered volunteers recruited to the project.
- 420 attendees to engagement events led by the Project Officers.
- 569 target species records submitted by volunteers via iRecord (not including records submitted directly to county recorders and UKBMS)
- 112 hairy caterpillar species records received through our citizen science iRecord activity.
Photos courtesy of Iain H Leach, Tim Melling, Dave Wainwright and Butterfly Conservation
