Sussex Branch

If you volunteer for BC, you are invited to register for Assemble, which is a new, more effective way for Butterfly Conservation (BC) staff and volunteers to communicate, and for you to find out pretty much anything you need to know about volunteering with us.  You can access it via the BC website - and there's also an app available to those who use a smartphone or tablet.  As well as finding training resources and other information, you can easily sign up to events, keep your information up to date and even let us know about a skill you would like to share with us.  It is used by the RSPB, Ramblers and CPRE (The Countryside Charity), as well as larger organisations such as the NHS and Save The Children.  

It is important that all volunteers register on Assemble as it allows BC to hold your details more securely.  It also ensures that you will be covered by BC's comprehensive insurance, going forward, so registration with us via Assemble will be a requirement for all volunteers from 1st December 2024.  If you would like to find out more about Assemble, you can find more information on the Butterfly Conservation website:  https://butterfly-conservation.org/how-you-can-help/get-involved/volunteering/assemble-volunteer-portal

If you volunteer for BC in the Sussex area, this is the link which you can use to sign up: Practical Conservation Group Volunteer (Sussex) | Butterfly Conservation Volunteering

This takes you to a very simple form to complete.  When asked for role details, please tell us about the activities you help us with.  Staff will then complete your registration, and you should receive a welcome email from Assemble within a few weeks.  

Please contact volunteering@butterfly-conservation.org if you have any issues. 

Thank you very much for your support and we hope you enjoy Assemble!

John Madden will be giving a Zoom talk to Surrey Butterfly Conservation members next Tuesday evening 7pm to 8pm.

If you want to watch it live please use the link below to register via EventBrite
We are also recording the talk which will be available on YouTube via the Surrey Butterfly Conservation website". You can either copy and paste the above link on your browser, or access the Surrey and SW London Branch BC website, click on the Zoom talks on the menu bar and take it from there.

A talk by John Madden, member of the Lingfield Nature Reserves
Management Committee and founder of "An Eden for Nature" Farm Cluster.

The Lingfield Nature Reserves are now 30 years old. The 25 acres of land in the heart of the village of Lingfield in South East Tandridge comprise a mosaic of established and maturing habitats but also new recently-created early succession habitats. Natural England considers the reserve grasslands to be species-rich and high priority and the reserves are listed as such in Magic Maps alongside the SSSIs of Blindley Heath and Lingfield Cernes. There are very few high priority neutral grasslands left in Surrey and the LNR equates to nearly 30% of the total in the county. John touches on the history and biodiversity of the reserves which boast 32 recorded species of butterfly. He goes on to explain the rather surprising results of the 2024 transect surveys and the thinking on how the exceptional biodiversity of the reserves bearing in mind their humble origins can be protected for another 30 years. John describes plans to include the reserves in connected biodiversity rich habitat corridors which it is hoped will be created in the future by the Eden for Nature Farm Cluster. The vision is for these habitats to stretch from Blindley Heath along the Eden Valley to Edenbridge with ambitions to maybe even link up to landscape recovery projects around Bough Beach and Ashdown Forest. While currently purely aspirational Surrey Wildlife Trust are now supporting the project and have secured Natural Environment Investment Readiness Funding to make the project attractive to green investors. John summarises the progress to date and describes the challenges of forming and developing a farm cluster.

Martin K
(Martin Kalaher, Storrington wildlife garden)

IT'S ALMOST CHRISTMAS AND THAT MEANS IT WILL SOON BE CHRISTMAS QUIZ TIME! AS MOST OF YOU WILL ALREADY KNOW, THERE ARE 50 QUESTIONS, WITH TWO PARTS TO EACH QUESTION. THE FIRST PART REQUIRES SKILL IN IDENTIFYING BUTTERFLIES AND THE SECOND PART IS A TEST OF KNOWLEDGE. THE FIRST TWENTY QUESTIONS SHOULD PROVE TO BE FAIRLY EASY AND THEN THEY GRADUALLY BECOME A LITTLE MORE DIFFICULT. IT'S BOTH FUN AND EDUCATIONAL. I DO HOPE THAT MANY OF YOU WILL GIVE IT A TRY.

Martin Kalaher, Storrington wildlife garden