Volunteers offered free trip to help butterflies in Europe
A new project is inspiring budding naturalists to take a closer look into the world of butterflies in Europe. If you want to learn more about how you can get involved, the new European Conservation Action Network (EuCAN) project wants to hear from you.Across Europe, butterflies and other wildlife thrive in diverse habitats, which have developed under human influence of several hundreds of years. However, some butterfly species are no longer doing so well, which is why this project is looking for help from volunteers.
Free placements
The project is offering free placements, covering all food, accommodation, insurance and travel. The aim of the initiative is to work in collaboration with local people in countries such as Hungary, France and the Czech Republic, to help restore butterfly havens or carry out surveys to check how the butterfly populations are doing. At the same time, volunteers get the chance to learn about the country that they visit.
To join the project, you must be over 18 and you don't need to be a butterfly expert. The project is particularly interested in new volunteers that haven't really been involved in conservation before.
Hungary
Sally Fisher, who lives in Cambridge, took the chance to volunteer for two and a half weeks monitoring butterfly populations in Hungary. "I had an amazing time; there is a huge variety of different butterflies in Hungary. During the winter months, volunteers help to restore habitats by clearing encroaching scrub. Our group visited some of these sites in the summer to see whether butterflies were using the restored habitat.
"I didn't know much about butterflies when I went on the trip, but I learnt loads in just a few weeks, and now I'm keen to continue to learn more about the butterflies closer to home. Since Hungary, I've visited some of the important wildlife sites in Cambridgeshire, and discovered that we have similar conservation issues. I'm now volunteering here so that I can continue to help wildlife."
To find out how you can get involved in the EuCAN project, go to www.kingcombecentre.org.uk and click on Leonardo Project.
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