SBBT is one year old today! It has been a busy year and we have been able to help swallowtail and birdwing enthusiasts conserve these wonderful butterflies not only in the UK but also as far afield as PNG, Australia, Sabah, Jamaica, Fiji and Dominica. Thank you to all our friends and supporters!

50+ people met at Norfolk’s Wheatfen Reserve and agreed translocation of the British Swallowtail may be considered if sea-level rise of more than 3mm per year threatens to replace fenland with saltmarsh. Great Fen Project and Lakenheath are possible target sites, but work on ecology of foodplant Milk Parsley is needed. Report is in the Guardian here.

SBBT has agreed a grant to Dr Eric Garraway in Jamaica to study two isolated populations of the Homerus Swallowtail. This lifeline to the most spectacular and endangered swallowtail in the Americas would not have been possible without a generous donation from the Howat family in memory of Dr Ian Howat, who loved butterflies and particularly this species.

SBBT has given a grant to the Queensland Wildlife Preservation Society for foodplant vines needed to rear this Vulnerable species in captivity and release the pupae and adults back to the wild. Volunteers across Queensland and New South Wales give their time freely to reverse the threats to this spectacular species.

SBBT’s Kinabalu Birdwing project headed by Stephen Sutton is to benefit from an HSBC Amanah grant to teach young people about the birdwing’s importance as a flagship species in this UNESCO World Heritage site in Sabah. Amongst other activities, they will create a traditional Dusun dance based around the butterfly’s courtship behaviour.