Join our Coastal Ranger for free local events to mark vital butterfly count

Join our new Cleethorpes Coastal Ranger Josh Forrester, who has been funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, as he contributes to the annual Big Butterfly Count 2025 this month by hosting two local events along our coastline.

These free events will encourage people to count the butterflies they see but also provide the information needed to identify them.

The nationwide Big Butterfly County 2025 takes place between July 18 and August 10.

Local wildlife and nature enthusiasts can join Josh on 18th July, from 10am to 12pm, at Humberston Fitties Sea Defence (meet at Anthony's Bank / Haven Cleethorpes Beach Car Park  (///hook.view.nation);

 Or on 21st July, from 10am to 12pm, at Cleethorpes Country Park  (///verge.flag.token).

Josh said: “Butterfly Conservation's Big Butterfly Count 2025 is an important citizen science initiative that everyone can take part in. Butterflies and moths are beautiful and vital pollinators; their numbers reflect the health of our environment, and they have decreased significantly since the 1970s.

“Butterfly declines are also an early warning for other wildlife losses. Butterflies are key biodiversity indicators for scientists as they react very quickly to changes in their environment. So, if their numbers are falling, then nature is in trouble

“That's why taking part in this massive citizen science initiative is so importance, not just for our butterflies, but for the wider environment and biodiversity in general,” he said.

If you cannot join Josh for the events then you can still take part in the count.

Simply count butterflies for 15 minutes during bright (preferably sunny) weather during the Big Butterfly Count. At this time of year most butterflies are at the adult stage of their lifecycle, so more likely to be seen. Records are welcome from anywhere: parks, school grounds and gardens, to fields and forests.

If you are counting from a fixed position in your garden, count the maximum number of each species that you can see at a single time. For example, if you see three Red Admirals together on a buddleia bush then record it as 3, but if you only see one at a time then record it as 1 (even if you saw one on several occasions) - this is so that you don't count the same butterfly more than once.

If you are doing your count on a walk, then simply total up the number of each butterfly species that you see during the 15 minutes.

Record your findings and submit them here: Big Butterfly Count