We had our annual butterfly count on Sunday afternoon and saw more butterflies than I think we've ever seen - normally they wait until the day and all disappear! As with previous years, we opened up the church to celebrate the diversity of butterflies and to take part in the Big Butterfly Count. The glorious weather I'm sure helped as many butterflies were spotted, origami butterflies decorated the church and as usual there were refreshments to be had.We continue to enjoy this event and look forward to repeating it again, so keep an eye out for more information.If you would like to see the results head over to: https://bigbutterflycount.butterfly-conservation.org/ and please think about joining the count next year. You could also download the iNaturalist app to record and identify other flora and fauna.
As part of the Big Butterfly Count, we thought we would add a fundraising event to our calendar and so a very talented member of the congregation organised and ran a Butterfly Drive (a beetle drive but with a butterfly instead of a beetle).The games themselves were a lot of fun, quite fast-paced and varied with lots of laughter. These events are such a nice way to get to know people in a relaxed atmosphere, so do keep an eye out for future events.There were plenty of snacks to keep us going, a raffle and a plant sale.We also managed to raise some money, which is always good!
Between 6th & 14th June, the annual Love Your Burial Ground and Churches Count on Nature took place across the country and here, at Little Burstead, we also joined in. The weather wasn’t as good as last year but we were still able to make over 100 observations ranging from birds to fungi. This year was the first year we actually saw (although no photos) rabbits and mice as well as finally getting a photo of a very camera shy pheasant. Previously we have only had evidence of them around the churchyard. Due to all the rain, we were also able to document fungi, which we can’t remember doing in previous years.It is always amazing to see the great variety of flora and fauna that live around the churchyard and it is such a blessing to have such a beautiful, calm space where we can experience God’s creation.Thank you to everyone who supports the graveyard, who cares for all the nature in it and who helped during the time we were counting. The coffee and cakes were especially appreciated!
