Urban areas have seen the abundance of butterflies fall by a dramatic 69% in just 20 years, compared to a 45% decline in rural areas*, with habitat loss and climate change the driving factors.
It is vital that we create opportunities for people to connect to nature, yet almost 10 million people in England alone live in areas with very limited access to nature rich green space, that is 1 in every 5 people**. Together, we can make a difference, by creating spaces where locals can enjoy butterflies and moths. We are asking for your help today to create Wild Spaces in areas of economic and green space deprivation, bringing butterflies and moths back to our urban spaces.
Wild Spaces is Butterfly Conservation’s flagship engagement programme, providing a simple and easy way for everyone, no matter where they live, to get involved and make a difference to help butterflies and moths. Through the creation of Wild Spaces across the UK, we aim to inspire as many people as possible to feel empowered to help butterflies and moths. Whether in a public greenspace, a window box or a planter!
Why do we need your help?
We have recently embarked on two new exciting Wild Spaces projects. Our first project is working with schools in Bristol and Weston Super-Mare, to create 47 Wild Space’s and reaching over 3000 children. Our second project will be the creation of 8 wild flower meadows in the city of Leeds. Creating 55 Wild Spaces altogether in areas of green space deprivation. These Wild Spaces will provide vital habitat for declining urban butterflies, and provide a platform for education to create an inspired and nature aware generation.
However, we face a £23,000 gap in funding, meaning that both of these projects may not reach their full potential without the generous support from people like you. Please consider a donation today to help us reach as many communities as possible and inspire a new generation of nature guardians. Butterflies and moths need your help right now. Together we can make a difference, giving adults and children the chance to build lasting connections with butterflies and moths.
Bringing butterflies to breaktime in Bristol and Weston-Super-Mare
With funding received from the National Lottery Heritage fund this project began in February 2024, working with 47 primary schools in Bristol and Weston-Super-Mare. The primary schools chosen were identified as being in areas of economic or greenspace deprivation, giving over 3,000 children the opportunity to nurture a green space and learn about butterflies, moths and the environment.
A £12,000 deficit remains for this project, we need your help to ensure that as many children as possible get the chance to create and enjoy a Wild Space in their school. Please show your support with a donation to bring nature back to the playground.
“I've never known Mason stay focused on anything for more than ten minutes, and he's been happy out here planting with you all afternoon. We've never seen him like this before.”
Teacher and Eco Lead at Victoria Park Primary
The benefits of engaging children with nature are well documented. With positive impacts on mental health, obesity levels, mood, attention and cognitive performance all proven. Teachers working alongside our Wild Spaces Project Officer have already noticed positive changes in their children, of which these are especially evident in those with special educational needs and disabilities. Children have also spoken about feeling more relaxed and happy after their Wild Spaces session.
Please consider a donation today to give children the access to nature that they deserve.
To ensure the longevity of each Wild Space, we work closely with every school to plan what type of space would work specifically for them. Funding is then used to purchase tools, planters, seeds, established plants and undertake any contractor work. Once the Wild Spaces are created, children take part in planting workshops run by our dedicated Wild Spaces Project Officer. Here they learn about the types of plants the Wild Space contains and what type of insects they will encourage!
By the end of September, 12 Wild Spaces will have been created, with hundreds of children returning to their classes and enjoying the benefits of caring for a Wild Space.
Please consider a donation today to provide the creation of more Wild Spaces in Primary Schools. Bringing back butterflies and moths to our urban areas and inspiring a caring and nature aware generation.
Community wildflower meadows in the heart of Leeds
We are delighted to have received funding from Leeds Community Climate Grant, the Hiscox Foundation and Peter Sowerby Foundation to work with Leeds City Council to create 8 new Wild Spaces in public parks across the city. With work planned to begin in September, we still face an £11,000 funding shortage, which will significantly impact these projects. Butterflies and moths urgently need our help to replace lost urban habitat, so please consider a donation today.
Last year, through a successful pilot with Leeds City Council, we created two new areas of wildflower meadow in Roundhay Park, one of the largest city parks in Europe. Volunteers from Yorkshire Butterfly Conservation, with support from staff, created a mix of locally sourced wildflowers and grasses, perfect for attracting a diverse mix of insects and mammals.
Expanding Wild Spaces across the city will build on the success of this pilot. With 16,000 square metres of wildflower meadow being created in the next 12 months, it will benefit not only wildlife, but also the local community. In these urban areas this meadow will play a vital part in carbon sequestration, the process of capturing and storing atmospheric carbon dioxide, improving the air quality for local people and giving them space to relax and reconnect to nature.
For people living in urban areas, the creation of Wild Spaces plays a vital part in nature recovery. In a pioneering study *** in collaboration with the University of Derby, counting butterflies in Butterfly Conservation’s Big Butterfly Count has been found to reduce anxiety by 10% and spending 15 minutes outside boosted feelings of connection with nature. These new areas will also provide training and volunteering opportunities to the local community as well as spaces for community groups to visit and enjoy.
To inspire others to care about our environment we must first give them opportunities to experience the joy that these Wild Spaces can bring in urban areas. The green spaces chosen for our meadows already host biodiversity, and by transforming them into meadows, we will establish a low-maintenance space that invites even more and new life to flourish.
Butterflies and moths rely on us to create new habitats for their survival. Please consider a donation today, to bring Wild Spaces to new places, reversing the decline of urban butterflies and inspiring a new generation of butterfly and moth guardians.
Donations to this appeal will support this project as well as other vital conservation projects across the UK. Any excess funds to this campaign will be used for other urgent conservation needs to save butterflies, moths and our environment across the UK.
* Urban Indicators for UK butterflies
**Friends of the Earth
***University of Derby
Image credits: Small Copper in Roundhay Park – Richard Tripp Roundhay Park Wildflower Meadow - Richard Tripp