🦋 Celebrating Our Butterfly Feeder Project

For some time now, we’ve been working on a very special project at Headway Sussex – creating beautiful, hand-painted Butterfly Feeder Stations to support our local butterflies while raising funds for our charity. 🦋💙

The project was designed and produced at Headway Sussex in collaboration with Matthew Simmonds, entomologist and owner of the London Butterfly Gardens in Bexley and the Butterfly Gardens at Ditchling.

The idea came in response to Butterfly Conservation declaring a “Nationwide Butterfly Emergency”, following a butterfly count which found that the average number of butterflies spotted per minute had fallen by nearly 50% in 2024.

Our Butterfly Feeder Stations have been created to provide an additional, uncontaminated food source for butterflies and other winged insects. They can be filled with a simple sugar-water nectar solution, with soft, peeled fruit placed on the shelf as an additional food source.

But what has made this project particularly special has been the people behind it.

💙 A huge and heartfelt thank you to our colleague Arlette, who has organised the project, developed the collaboration and worked so hard to bring the idea to life.

🎨 Arlette has also created the most beautiful, intricate hand-painted designs, while the people we support at Headway Sussex have put so much time, creativity and care into decorating the feeders themselves.

It has been wonderful to see the project grow and to watch everyone’s creativity come together to create something that is both practical and beautiful.

And there’s a special connection between butterflies and brain injury.

Butterflies symbolise transformation and resilience, qualities that are reflected in the journeys of many people living with acquired brain injury. Like a butterfly’s transformation, recovery can involve profound change, adapting to new ways of living and discovering strength in new forms.

By supporting our Butterfly Feeder project, you’re not only helping our winged wildlife, you’re also helping to support the work of Headway Sussex and the people we support across Sussex.

If you’d like to make a donation towards the project, however small, you can scan the QR code above. Every contribution helps us continue our work. 💙

Thank you to Arlette, Matthew, everyone who helped decorate the feeders, and everyone who has supported this wonderful project so far. 🦋💙

Best wishes,

The Headway Sussex Team