The small tortoise shell butterfly is classified as at risk. David Dennis will advise on how to provide conditions in which butterflies can thrive (photo: Iain Leach).

Butterflies and more on the agenda at Alexandra Park greenhouse

Hear how to provide a thriving habitat for butterlies in a talk from a local expert at the Alexandra Park greenhouse next month. Other events at the community hub during June include advice on meditating while drawing and participating in Town Grown’s Edible Open Gardens event, as press officer Lynda Foy explains.

NETTLES and rotting wood in gardens and other green spaces can help save butterfly species from decline in Sussex, says an expert.

Butterfly expert David Dennis

David Dennis, the Bexhill Wild Domesday conservation manager for Bexhill Town Council, said five species thrived on nectar from nettles and some hung their larvae on nearby wood.

Mr Dennis, who is making a master list of Sussex butterflies with biodiversity expert Keith Hillier-Palmer, said there were 59 species in Britain, with 54 of them in the county. Butterflies were in overall decline, but simple measures like growing nettles could help to save them, he added.

He will talk about butterflies at Alexandra Park Greenhouse off St Helens Road, Hastings, on Saturday 14 June. The event runs from 1.30pm to 2.30pm. Pay what you can; suggested donation: £5.

A green-veined white butterfly, an endangered species (photo: Iain Leach).

Mr Dennis said many gardeners thought nettles were bad for their plots, but added: “Stinging nettles are good for you and for butterflies.”

Butterflies were an important part of the insect food chain and pollinated crops by feeding on their nectar. Farmers and housing developers could help to stem the declining population. “We don’t want to live in a concrete jungle with one caterpillar,” he said.

Meditating while drawing

In June greenhouse volunteer Rupert Bozeat will start a four-week course about how to meditate while drawing.

Rupert,  a retired senior lecturer and course leader in furniture and product design, will lead the event at the greenhouse,  starting on Tuesday 17 June. The rest of the course will be on the following Tuesdays, 24 June and 1 and 8 July.

The two-hour sessions will run from 10.30am to 12.30pm on each day.

The course costs £48, including materials, and tickets will be on sale from 9am on Friday 13 June from Eventbrite. All profits will be donated to greenhouse funds.

Rupert said the course, entitled Drawing Life, aims to teach mindful or drawing meditation. No previous experience is required.

The greenhouse will be part of Town Grown’s Edible Open Gardens event during its usual opening hours from 10.30am to 1pm on Saturday 28 June.

This year’s campaign on 28 and 29 June aims to encourage residents in Hastings and St Leonards to open their vegetable plots for public viewing. More details nearer the time from Town Grown.

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