19 March 2013
Could you help gather information on Jersey butterflies to help ecologists protect them?
The Department of the Environment is looking for new volunteers to help record butterfly sightings in their surrounding area and is offering a free one-day conference and training course to anyone interested, whatever their level of expertise.
Existing volunteers for the Jersey Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (JBMS) make a weekly count of butterflies at 36 locations across Jersey. The initiative has been running since 2004 and helps monitor the health of Jersey’s ecosystems as part of the ‘State of the Environment’ programme.
The day-long conference and training event, which takes place on Saturday 23 March at Howard Davis Farm, has attracted three experts to talk about their work:
- Dr Phil Sterling from Dorset County Council is the author of the recently published 'Field Guide to the Micro-Moths of Great Britain and Ireland'. This book has revolutionised the study of moths in Britain. Phil will be giving an entertaining talk entitled ‘Small is the New Big’
- David Wedd from Alderney Wildlife Trust is an expert on butterflies and moths and will be giving a talk on ‘The Wildlife Trust and Insect Conservation’. The talk outlines initiatives that Alderney is taking to encourage the understanding and conservation of invertebrates
- Susan Clarke from Wessex Environment Associates is a self-employed zoologist, specialising in butterflies. She will be talking about simple survey techniques that can be used by anyone interested in butterflies and moths, and illustrating these with her recent work on the Wood White butterfly. In the afternoon, Susan will lead a butterfly identification and monitoring workshop for new and existing JBMS volunteers
Other speakers will include active JBMS members who will be talking about their work and results during the 2012 monitoring season.
The conference takes place on 23 March from 10am to 3.15pm. To reserve a place, please contact Paul Chambers on 441630.
gov.je