Butterfly Orchids and friends...
Join Plantlife and Devon Wildlife Trust staff on 21 June for a short stroll to discover the fascinating wild flowers around Leigh and Aish Tor on the beautiful southern edge of Dartmoor.
This area is important for a wide variety of plant life including the rare lesser butterfly orchid.
The once widespread lesser butterfly orchid is one of the fastest declining species of plant in the UK and has disappeared from 75% of its recorded range in England.Whilst enjoying discovering some of Dartmoor’s fantastic flora you can also learn more about the ground breaking ‘Back from the Brink’ project. ‘Back from the Brink’ is a partnership project that brings together a range of conservation organisations to focus on protecting key threatened wild flowers, butterflies, birds and other species. By working together at sites across the country, ‘Back from the Brink’ will save 20 species from extinction and help another 118 species that are under threat move to a more certain future. The Lesser Butterfly Orchid (Platanthera bifolia) is one of the focus species of this project.
The project aims:
- To identify and manage key sites where the plant occurs in the South West of England and increase the populations.
- To better understand the reasons for decline.
- To increase public awareness of the plant.
- To engage and involve the public in its protection
There are still a number of sites in the South West of England where the plant still occurs, with Devon being an important stronghold, such as on culm grassland but also on the dry acid grasslands of the southern and western edges of Dartmoor.
Come along on 21 June at 2.15 pm and find out more. The walk finishes at 4.30 pm. The event is free to attend but booking is essential. To book your place online visithttp://www.plantlife.org.uk/uk/discover-wild-plants-nature/events/wildflower-walk-orchids-and-friends
Find out more about Back from the Brink at https://naturebftb.co.uk
Contact
Mike Ingram on 07852 327204 or Mike.Ingram@plantlife.org.uk