A return after the Bank Holiday saw a group of volunteers out planting wild thyme plugs into Tidna Valley near Morwenstow today.
The plant is the larval food host for a rare and previously extinct species of butterfly which is being re introduced to the valley after an absence of some 31 years! Our conservation work of habitat restoration here also has great significance for the general biodiversity of the coastal heath and grassland. I may be doing the rain dance tonight though as we could do with a drop to water the plants in a bit!
Large Blue female butterfly (Phengaris arion)
Photo credit - Jeremy Thomas - Butterfly
Conservation
Conservation
The large blue project is a collaboration between NT, Butterfly Conservation and various other partner organisations. The Eden Project nursery propagate and grow on 1000's of thyme plants for NT sites in North Cornwall every year.
