Citizen science, also known as community science, is a partnership approach that involves volunteers in scientific data gathering and research. By taking part in our surveys, such as the Big Butterfly Count, volunteer recorders contribute almost all of the species’ records and monitoring data that enable us to assess the changing fortunes of the UK’s butterflies and moths. Indeed, most of what we know about the lives and requirements of these incredible insects has been discovered by amateur enthusiasts over the centuries. It is true to say that without all of these volunteers we couldn’t do the work that we do!
The brilliant thing about citizen science is that you do not need any experience in recording and monitoring, but your data will still contribute to greater knowledge and, ultimately, improved conservation. The Big Butterfly Count, running from the 15th July to 7th August, takes just 15 minutes, during which you to observe the butterflies and day-flying moths you see, or lack thereof, and report this to increase our scientific understanding of their populations throughout the campaign. You can do this either via the app, or the website and you will be able to view the data from all the counts you have done.
Caroline Bulman, Senior Conservation Manager stated “this is the 13th year of the Big Butterfly Count and alongside these data, we also have other long-running monitoring programmes and projects, so all of the sightings are combined into a huge dataset that really helps us understand what’s going on with our butterflies and moths.
That information can then feed into our conservation programmes, and it directly impacts and helps us to focus and target the conservation work on the ground that we need to do desperately to change the fortunes of our butterflies and moths”
While there is a margin for error by some recorders (we don’t blame you – some butterflies even stump our experts when trying to tell them apart), we have taken steps to limit this. For example, by only including a smaller range of common species in the Big Butterfly Count we reduce errors that could be made by misidentifying a species.
Some sceptics have raised doubts about the reliability of citizen science given the potential for participants to make mistakes. However, Butterfly Conservation scientists have shown that the population trends reported through Big Butterfly Count are closely matched with those from the much more rigorous and standardised UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme. We can be confident, therefore, that Big Butterfly Count does contribute to our understanding of the populations and distributions of our butterflies and moths.
“We need people to get out and do the Big Butterfly Count, it’s a really easy way to be involved and do your bit to help to save butterflies and moths…you’re helping us build that picture up and to help us do the conservation work on the ground and push for change” – Caroline Bulman.
To be part of this change, visit the Big Butterfly Count website or download the app to upload your sightings today!