It’s the last weekend of the Big Butterfly Count! To take part, find somewhere outside, or by a window - and make a note of any butterflies & moths you see over 15 mins. And if you don’t see any, that’s important too! You can log your results here: bigbutterflycount.org

We all know that wildlife is in trouble, and this week I’ve been reflecting again on a piece I wrote for the BBC with BBC Springwatch back in 2014. You can find it here: bbc.co.uk/blogs/natureuk…

The blog was written four years into Butterfly Conservation 🦋’ Big Butterfly Count project. Since then, the study has given vital insights into annual butterfly population fluctuations, as well as longer-term trends. All this information is crucial in helping our precious natural world.

What makes me proudest, though, is the fact that today, ten years on, SO many more people are taking part in the study. A decade ago, just under 44,000 Big Butterfly Counts were completed; this year well over 110,000 have been logged - so far! This is what gives me hope.

The natural world is at risk, but there are hundreds of thousands of people working together to restore it. Inclusive citizen science schemes like the Big Butterfly Count, promoted by Butterfly Conservation 🦋, Chris Packham & BBC Springwatch, means all of us can do our bit to help.

This from Dame Sarah Storey is everything “You can see that the [London 2012] legacy of sport is amazing, but the legacy for society is still the thing we have to work on… “If you give every disabled person the chance to thrive, they will.” Full quote⤵️ theguardian.com/sport/article/…

#TBT Throwback to the feature I wrote for one of the July-September editions of WWT’s ‘Waterlife’ magazine. WWT has long been a trailblazer in accessible nature and I’m so glad to be able to share this article again. issuu.com/wwtdigitial/do…

I remember this like it was yesterday… After three years of illness, I became well enough to get out and about a bit, and to write a little, too. I wrote a blog for BBC Springwatch, and a few months later I was asked to be a part of the next series…

Being involved in BBC Autumnwatch 2014 (in the Lake District) was incredible. The show I’d idolised as a teen was just as good in real life, and I was so proud to share my experiences, and to help start a conversation around the benefits of nature for our wellbeing.

The Autumnwatch team were beyond brilliant: kind, thoughtful and incredibly generous with their time. I feel so lucky to have met such wonderful people (some, not all, pictured here), and to still be in touch with them years later.

Talking about life-altering illness is a big thing; but with the team I was in the most caring & supportive environment, meaning I could tell my story with honesty & dignity. To have had the opportunity to talk about nature & chronic illness was a privilege.

Living with M.E. is incredibly hard, and it limits me now so much more than it did back then. I have bad days, and, sometimes, better days, but looking back at these pictures makes me so thankful for good people, for this good green fragile earth we live in.

It’s the Autumnwatch Lake District series’ tenth anniversary. I was so so lucky to be involved in the show, & I treasure the memories of my time there. The dream team: Laura Howard, Anne Gallagher, Deby Pinnock, Lindsey Chapman 🌱🎥, Brett Westwood, richard taylor-jones & Nick Baker.