Two volunteer workdays are being planned to benefit the rare and declining Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary Butterfly, which still has a few important populations locally.
The first of these will be in the Pant-y-lidan valley on Sunday January 26th 2014, where last year a small group of volunteers cut back scrub to create a glade alongside a footpath and Dog Violets (the foodplant for the fritillary caterpillars) came back strongly from buried seed.
The second day will be at Black Mountain 2 on February 9th 2014 where the same group has cut and cleared rushes in past years, and where the fritillaries were seen nectaring again after an absence of two years.
If you would like to help us actively conserve the fritillaries and strengthen their populations in the Upper Clun area, please sign up for either or both workdays in the New Year.
Nick Williams, formerly Midlands Fritillaries Project Officer with the charity Butterfly Conservation, will arrange and lead the tasks. He can be contacted on 0121 550 9853 or by email at nw4frits@talktalk.net.