Salford-based wildlife film-maker and researcher Luke Blazejewski has produced a film about the Pearl-bordered Fritillary, a butterfly species that is among the most declining in the UK.
The piece is a short film that explores the Pearl-bordered Fritillary; an “incredibly sensitive, delicate and declining butterfly.”
Blazejewski hopes that he can inspire people to connect with nature through this film, as well as to educate people on the species.
“Particularly around the story of the pearl bordered fritillary- it’s a story that nobody really knows about and if I can get that out into the world, hopefully it’ll educate some other people doing research maybe- hopefully it will inspire some members of the public to keep an eye out for (the) butterflies in their garden or in their local park, and just bit by bit -all of us- trying to just patch together and make the world a slightly better place through raising awareness of the magic of the natural world.”
The film is set in Warton Crag near Lancaster, where one of the last strongholds of the population is located.
Excited to start working on my next film! A short story about the Pearl bordered fritillary #butterflies @savebutterflies pic.twitter.com/EYp3bnLBPn
— Luke Blazejewski (@LukeBlazejewski) October 6, 2019
Blazejewski also wants to focus on the significance of the filming site, Warton Crag. He explains that the site is one of the few that can become a habitat to this butterfly species. He claims that due to the south-facing bank of the site, the butterflies get all the sun when it comes out.
“It’s also a story of the site of Warton Crag; it’s a story of conservation partnership between three organisations which all sort of manage a third of this part of the world- and manage it for the conservation of the butterfly.”
Although this film was produced due to Blazejewski’s admiration for the species, it is also targeted towards creating awareness for climate change with regards to this creature and other Salford Wildlife.
“A lot of the research now about the Pearl-bordered Fritillary is suggesting that their numbers are declining because of climate change. It’s the first time that they have been able to prove that with population data and climate data.
“Butterflies are great indicators of ecosystem health and so when butterflies start to suffer it’s usually a sign that maybe the wild flowers or the soil or the general sort of ecosystem is starting to collapse and so they’re important creatures to want to protect not only just because they are beautiful but also because they are great indicators of environmental health.”
The film-maker highlights that the Pearl-bordered Fritillary is “a species worthy of protection just because its behaviour is so interesting.”
The film was shot in April and is set to come out in the next few weeks.
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