Cycling gets you closer to nature
AMONG the best rewards of regularly travelling by bicycle are the many breathtaking encounters with nature. It might be a fox slinking through the hedge, or a badger shuffling across the path at dusk.
In summer the old railway lines that form much of our National Cycle Network become a noisy rabble of bird and insect life, the air heavy with the scent of wildflowers as the butterflies flutter in your wake.
These days we are unlikely to cycle through the magically-named ‘kaleidoscope of butterflies,’ or a swarm. Three quarters of British butterflies and two thirds of moths are in decline, according to Butterfly Conservation. Loss of habitat, pollution and climate change have all taken their toll on these fragile and beautiful insects.
This vulnerability to external changes means environmentalists have long thought butterflies important indicators of the state of our planet. In 1864 the naturalist HW Bates wrote that ‘the study of butterflies – creatures selected as the types of airiness and frivolity – will some day be valued as one of the most important branches of biological science.’
Parks, woodlands and gardens are still safehavens for butterflies, as well as other wildlife. Linear traffic-free paths help connect fragmented habitats and mean that populations have a better chance to survive.
Our charity, Sustrans, manages many traffic-free paths around the country. It is helping to increase the number of butterflies by planting wildflower seeds and yellow rattle, a flowering plant and a parasite of grasses, to help control the dominant grasses which overwhelm the flowers.
Sustrans is holding events across the country along our cycle paths as part of Butterfly Conservation’s Big Butterfly Count, which ends on August 7.
Sir David Attenborough is calling on people to help reverse declines by recording any sightings of the top 18 species of butterfly found in Britain and two species of day-flying moths.
You can get involved by attending events or doing the counts on your own. Look out for the fierycoloured gatekeeper and the perfectly camouflaged speckled wood, which are still in healthy numbers in our local woodlands and shaded areas of Greater Manchester.
The common blue is still a regular visitor to our open grasslands and wildflower meadows, while the vibrant tortoiseshell is one of our most well-known butterflies as it’s fairly adaptable and thrives in gardens, parks and woodlands. Occasionally, if you’re lucky, one settles on your handlebars and comes along for the ride.
»●Sustrans is holding a butterfly walk with local expert Peter Hardy along the Fallowfield Loop cycle and pedestrian path on Friday, August 5. Suitable for all ages, meet at The Buttery, 30 Albert Road, Levenshulme, Manchester, M19 2FP at 10.30am, return at 12.30pm. Places are limited. Sign up at sustrans.org.uk/events/butterfly-surveyfallowfield-looplinemanchester
»●For more information about the Big Butterfly Count look up http:// butterfly-conservation. org.