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The Dorset Branch of Butterfly Conservation welcomes you to its website.

Dorset is one of the best areas in the UK for butterflies and moths.

We also have a very active Branch of Butterfly Conservation, and this website is designed to help you join our activities and enjoy our butterflies and moths, whether in reality or via the wonders of the internet.

Sunday 22 January Giant Hill, Cerne Abbas

There will be a Practical Conservation Day starting from 10am and finishing around 4pm. We intend to continue the excellent progress of scrub clearance made in December, and there is plenty of activity for all volunteers able to come along. By the spring we should have created a significant habitat link between the start and finish of the transect walk sections, hopefully to the benefit of many butterfly species.

The initial meeting point is the picnic area car park opposite the village hall, OS Map Ref ST 663015. Stout footwear and clothing are required as usual, and gloves and handtools will be provided. If staying for the whole day, please bring a packed lunch - hot potatoes cooked in the bonfire will also be provided.

We look forward to meeting up - for further information contact Adam Gale on 01935 508842 or 07557 358587, or Malcolm Wemyss on 01935 872047 or 07977 287739.

MEMBERS’ AFTERNOON SATURDAY 21 JANUARY

This is the annual social event where members can share their last year’s experiences and photographs, meet new members and chat about butterfly habitats. We meet at the Village Hall, The Recreation Ground, Morden, near Wareham, BH20 7DL from 2.00 to 5.00 pm with tea and cakes.

Parking is available at the hall. Charge of £3 to cover the cost. Enquiries and offers of assistance to Brian and Sylvia Dicker on 01963 32453. If you are showing images (slide or digital), the limit is 20, i.e. 20 minutes. Please notify Brian beforehand. Also please advise of any dietary requirements (e.g. gluten free ) and if you would like to carshare or need a lift to the event.

Please consider joining Butterfly Conservation to help us in our work to save butterflies and moths and their habitats.

Wider Countryside Butterfly Survey

Many ‘common’ butterfly species have undergone serious declines and are in need of greater attention. The Wider Countryside Butterfly Survey (WCBS) organised by Butterfly Conservation, the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH) and the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) is a new national survey of common and widespread butterfly species. The WCBS will enable us to more effectively monitor the changing abundance of these species in the general countryside. The survey will also help us to measure the future impacts of climate change on butterflies and assess whether environmental grants to farmers and woodland managers are helping to restore butterfly populations across the landscape. Download the latest WCBS Newsletter here (pdf)