Butterfly Conservation is the UK charity devoted to saving butterflies, moths and our natural environment. They work to create a world where butterflies and moths thrive and can be enjoyed by everyone, everywhere. 

Their London based project, Big City Butterflies, celebrates the amazing diversity of butterflies that can be found within the capital’s green spaces. They work to inspire communities to discover butterflies and take action to protect them. Our collaboration on The Colour of Transformation project grew from the charity’s desire to explore new ways of connecting people to nature; to see how art, costume and music can work alongside the science, data and ecological processes on which our organisation is founded. And with butterflies the opportunities really are endless – they are beautiful, fragile and symbolic in so many ways.

“Our early conversations with Bryony meandered through so much before alighting upon the most miraculous of processes – metamorphosis. From there we have watched on as The Colour of Transformation has taken shape.”

- Ele Johnstone, Big City Butterflies

In The Colour of Transformation, seven incredible women of the Global Majority share their stories of forging new paths in the environmental sector. Through the process of developing the project, Big City Butterflies leant into the uncomfortable truth that ways of working at Butterfly Conservation have excluded many, and most certainly Black and people of colour.

“This project serves up a powerful message that we will only stand a chance of stemming biodiversity loss if we listen to and act upon a wide range of perspectives, experiences and ideas. We pledge to do better. Perhaps our own transformation starts right here.”

- Ele Johnstone, Big City Butterflies 

Community 

The Colour of Transformation live screenings took place at Meanwhile Gardens, one of the many beautiful London green spaces that Butterfly Conservation are working with through the Big City Butterflies project. In the days following the screening, we invited local residents to join family friendly creative art workshops exploring themes of wildlife and camouflage.

A call to action

Butterflies are the harbinger of spring, are an integral part of summer and their disappearance through autumn reminds us that winter is on the way. But it’s not just the sight of these beautiful insects that enrich people’s lives, they also have vital roles in our ecosystem, as well as countless other important values from children’s education to climate research.

Butterflies and moths are indicators of a healthy environment, so their recent declines highlight the dual ecological and climate crises that we are experiencing. Their disappearance from our landscapes is a warning that something needs to be done quickly. 

Find out how you can join in with the Big City Butterflies project by signing up to this newsletter or following them on social media: Twitter: @BigCButterflies and Instagram: @bigcitybutterflies.

Big City Butterflies is funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. 

Images courtesy Chris O’Donovan.