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Friday 7 Feb 2025

Buckinghamshire railway helping to protect rare species of butterfly

Region & Route:

North West & Central

| North West & Central: Central

Volunteers from Network Rail are working with the Butterfly Conservation in Buckinghamshire to help protect a rare species of butterfly.

Over two volunteer days, the collaborative work includes a transformation of an area of land near the railway in High Wycombe as part of ongoing efforts to create a suitable environment for the beautiful Duke of Burgundy butterfly.

The work between the charity, the conservation group Chiltern Rangers, and Network Rail builds on previous conservation work to create a suitable environment for the butterfly’s survival and is part of Network Rail’s ongoing work to protect and enhance the environment along the railway.

Officially known as Hamearis lucina, the Duke of Burgundy is a rapidly declining species, and in 2010 the number of separate Duke of Burgundy butterfly colonies in the Chilterns area of Buckinghamshire was only two. 

But thanks to collaborative work from the Upper Thames branch of the Butterfly Conservation charity, who, over the last ten years have been working with a number of landowners including Network Rail to prepare suitable host sites, that has been expanded to Network Rail land. If this additional work is successful, then that will be another colony, doubling the total to 4 colonies.

The aim now is to join those pockets of Duke of Burgundy butterfly sites up with one another along the area of the West Coast Main Line. 

The first volunteer day was this week which saw volunteers planting 1250 shelter belt trees and 2400 cowslip wildflowers alongside the margin of Long Orchard's chalk grassland meadow in Buckinghamshire. 

The project is part of Network Rail’s ongoing commitment to environmental sustainability and diversity.

Jude Ward, environment manager for Network Rail’s North West and Central Region, said: It’s great to continue working with the Butterfly Conservation to strengthen the population of the Duke of Burgundy butterfly and increase the number of colonies in Buckinghamshire.

"This work highlights the ability of our railway to act as a wildlife corridor by connecting scattered habitat and animal species throughout the country. Working with external partners to align our conservation objectives allows us to create a network of habitat that’s bigger, better and more connected."

Nick Bowls, a volunteer from The Butterfly Conservation, said: "Butterfly Conservation are very grateful to Network Rail for their help in securing access to create habitat on some additional land around a colony of the Duke of Burgundy in Buckinghamshire.

"It is allowing work that has seen the butterfly, which is the one suffering the biggest contraction in range in the UK, to expand into new areas. In many parts of England, the Duke has been lost from entire landscapes but the colony near Princes Risborough is now stable and expanding."

The work started this week and another volunteer day is taking place on 11 February.

It’s being done ahead of spring so adults can find this habitat, lay eggs and expand their range.

To find out more about what Network Rail is doing to support biodiversity on the railway, visit www.networkrail.co.uk/sustainability/biodiversity-on-britains-railway/.