Butterfly Conservation’s pilot education project ‘Munching Caterpillars’ has won a £750 Wessex Watermark Award.
The award has been running for 21 years and exists to support environmental projects within the Wessex Water area.
‘Munching Caterpillars’ operates throughout Dorset and Somerset, visiting schools and encouraging children to learn more about moths and butterflies. Activities such as creating a Caterpillar Munch Box or Butterfly Fuel Station, teach the children about the different food and nectar plants needed to help these beautiful creatures thrive in their gardens or school grounds.
During 2013, Butterfly Conservation’s team visited 20 schools and set up 82 workshops, including working with local garden centres. Following positive feedback from the children and teachers, the charity hope to expand the project and take it in to more schools in the Wessex Water region.
Senior Fundraising Officer for the wildlife charity, Susan Kerry Bedell, said: “Through ‘Munching Caterpillars’ thousands of children will encounter the fascinating world of butterfly and moth conservation.
“This project marks a new level of engagement for Butterfly Conservation and we are working at making it an important blueprint for wider, nationwide replication. The Watermark Award will help keep the project running, allowing us to continue our work to increase young people’s understanding of species and conservation issues.”
Paul Robbins, Engineer for Wessex Water, presented the £750.00 cheque to Munching Caterpillars Project Officer, Megan Lowe at Butterfly Conservation's head office in East Lulworth, Dorset.
To find out more about ‘Munching Caterpillars’ or to invite them to your school, please visit: www.munchingcaterpillars.org/