Environmental education as a tool for biodiversity conservation: ‘Be Butterfly Friendly’ citizen science project
Keywords:
Insects, Butterflies, Lepidoptera, Monitoring, Action Plan, Citizen ScienceAbstract
The loss of biodiversity is one of the most pressing problems of our planet. Insects, one of the most diverse and abundant groups, play essential roles in the functioning of ecosystems and are one of the most affected groups by the loss of diversity. Among them, butterflies are highly studied, charismatic, and popular insects among the public and in addition are relatively easy to identify. This group has been widely used as a model and as a biological indicator because it responds rapidly to environmental changes. It is common ground that the causes of this decline are related to the loss and fragmentation of habitats, the use of agrochemicals, climate change, or sometimes the synergistic action between these, with many of the species evaluated by the International Union for Conservation of Nature in the Red List of Threatened Species revealing to be in some degree of risk of extinction.
This work will present the preliminary results of the first year of the citizen science project “Be Butterfly Friendly” implemented in the municipality of Oeiras. Launched in 2023-24, the project is part of an action plan to reverse the decline of Lepidoptera, which, in addition to monitoring the diversity of butterflies in vegetable gardens and school gardens, has a strong environmental education component.
Some of the project’s objectives include, promoting the active participation of citizens, young students, environmental technicians, in collecting monitoring data on butterflies and other insects, in building butterfly gardens, sowing host plants and food plants to promote increased insect biodiversity. The project has two phases, the first corresponding to teacher’s training and a second phase that is structured around five actions. The project’s flagship species is Melitaea aetherie, commonly known as Aetherie’s fritillary, a species endemic to the Mediterranean, classified as “Least Concern” in Europe and “Vulnerable” on Italy and Portugal’s Red Lists, and which is thought to be currently locally extinct in the Municipality of Oeiras, thus highlighting the importance of conserving butterflies and biodiversity in general.
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