Our Delivery Report
Funded on 29 July 2021 | Delivered on 31 December 2024
£13,520
RAISED
28
BACKERS
91
DAYS TO FUND
BIGGEST PLEDGE
£6,842
From MHDC
200
people have visited this project!
Ward Budget on behalf of Cllr Bronwen Behan donated £300
270000 m2 of green space improved
270000 m2 of habitat conserved
27 November 2021
BBC Countryfile's Matt Baker visits Malvern Hills
Malvern GazetteButterflies are remarkable indicators of the health of our environment, and so, if we get it right for our rare and endangered butterfly, the chances are that we are getting it right for the rest of our wildlife too.
Various - see attachment donated £2,384
Elizabeth Seakins donated £10
80 People involved in project delivery
1 New community group started
280000 m2 of public or community space improved
Councillor Natalie McVey donated £10
17 Community events created
More about our impact
The environment
Please refer to the 10-minute video and Malvern Hills PBF Reports 2020-2024. Large areas of bracken habitat have been managed by volunteers and contractor & robo-cutter to develop eight kilometres of habitat corridors to encourage violet edges for female PBF to lay eggs and for feeding caterpillars, to allow wild flowers to grow as a nectar source, and for male PBF to use as patrolling corridors as they search for females to mate.
The local economy
Many visitors are attracted to the project on three sites in popular locations on Bromesberrow Estate and Eastnor Estate and the southern Malverns including project partners, wildlife groups, university students, and many more casual visitors. Midlands BBC, H&W Radio and BBC Countryfile have broadcast the project on several occasions. Social media at receptor sites, MHDC, and Malvern Gazette have also informed the local community. I have delivered presentations in different areas of Worcestershire, Herefordshire, Gloucestershire, even Wiltshire. Closer to home I have spoken at the Wyre Forest Entomology Day, Malvern Wildlife Trust members, U3A Wildlife Group, Malvern Naturalists Club and 3 times at Spacehive Funding Platform Events.
Volunteering, jobs & education
More than 40 volunteers have supported the project in the last three years. During the winter 21 volunteers helped with habitat management. During the spring 15 volunteers monitored the sites and recorded the behaviour of the adult butterfly (location, feeding, flight, mating, egg-laying). Also, 28 volunteers in four different counties grew hundreds of Dog Violet plants to feed hundreds of caterpillars in our breeding programme each year. Students from different universities have visited the sites to learn more about the project. More than 40 partners have visited as listed in the attachment of acknowledgements. The Tree of Life Project at the Sanger Institute is still studying the genome of Pearl-bordered Fritillary including one of our specimens.
Arts, culture & heritage
Our natural environment and biodiversity have significantly deteriorated in recent decades. We have lost 7 species of butterflies around the Malvern Hills during the past 40 years. We are trying to buck this trend by reintroducing one of our most at risk butterfly species, restoring habitat and improving the environment for biodiversity across 27 ha around the southern Malverns.
Activity, health and leisure
During the past four years, we have organised many group visits for volunteers, wildlife groups, students and project partners. Casual visitors are now visiting the butterfly sites because of the publicity in the media and many organised presentations. As previously mentioned, many volunteers are supporting the project to help manage the habitat, grow Dog Violets for our hungry caterpillars or monitor activity on three butterfly sites.
