Passage Five
Counting butterflies can reduce anxiety and boost a sense of connection with nature, a study has found. Researchers surveyed participants in the Big Butterfly Count in 2022, in which wildlife charity Butterfly Conservation encouraged people to spend 15 minutes outside counting butterflies to help scientists track how the insects were faring. Surveys completed by 382 people before and after the three-week count period revealed a 9 per cent reduction in anxiety among participants, and a greater sense of connection with nature, as well as noticing butterflies and nature more.
Further surveys completed by 345 people, which were sent five weeks after the count, did not find nature connectedness and reduced anxiety had been maintained. But they revealed an increase in general wellbeing compared with before the project. The research, published in the journal *Biological Conservation*, was carried out by Butterfly Conservation and the University of Derby.
The surveys revealed people had a range of positive and negative emotions associated with taking part, ranging from joy and fascination to sadness and concern about declining insects. Richard Fox, head of science at Butterfly Conservation, said, “This study is the first to prove that the simple act of looking for and counting butterflies leads to a decrease in anxiety. The results suggest that citizen science projects can play a part in improving people’s mental health, as well as gathering important data on how butterflies are faring to inform our conservation work.”
Carly Butler, lead researcher on the study, said the benefits of reduced anxiety and stronger connectedness with nature were the same whether people just carried out one 15-minute count or did so multiple times. Dr Butler added that participants felt motivated to help butterflies and nature by doing things such as making their gardens butterfly-friendly.
Why were people encouraged to participate in the Big Butterfly Count?