NATURE lovers from all over Cornwall will gather for a double celebration at a garden that has become an “inspirational haven for wildlife”.

Lethytep Farm, near Looe, will be a wonderful and apt setting for the launch of a new book, Butterflies of Cornwall: Atlas for the Twenty-first Century.

An award will also be presented by High Sheriff Mark Thomas to the owner of Lethytep, Philip Hambly, for the contribution he has made to Cornwall’s natural environment.

After the formal events, there will be an Open Day at Lethytep (11am - 4pm), where all will be welcome to wander in the gardens, and see for themselves just how this location offers so much to conservation. A voluntary admission fee of £6 will support Cornwall Butterfly Conservation.Tristram Besterman, a lead author of Butterflies of Cornwall, said: “If butterflies could speak, what a tale they’d have to tell.

“Those bright wings of summer speak to us of nature’s beauty, resilience and challenges in Cornwall.”

The book distils tens of thousands of records, systematically collected by volunteers, into clear patterns over the last 30 years. Tracking the fortunes of 37 species of butterfly over time and across the county, it is a reminder that butterflies are an important indicator of the health of our environment, and key to our own health too.

Packed with beautiful colour photographs and illustrations, and descriptions of each species’ habits and life cycles, the book is also a celebration of nature.

Tristram added: “This book is as much about people as butterflies. Hundreds of enthusiasts systematically reporting over many decades made the vast database that we drew on; teams of enthusiasts out in all weathers have created the right habitats to nurture and protect our rarest butterflies; and a small band of knowledgeable volunteers came together to write and illustrate the book.

“Above all, Butterflies of Cornwall reminds us of our responsibility to care for nature, which repays us richly in return.”

In his foreword to the book, the Duke of Cornwall, a lifelong champion of the environment, points out how in the county “there are some encouraging examples of the early recovery of national rarities, such as the Marsh Fritillary and the Silver-studded Blue... The rarest of all is the Heath Fritillary, now found in only one site in Cornwall, in whose conservation, I am proud to say, the Duchy of Cornwall plays a continuing role.”

Hosting the book launch at the invitee-only event on Saturday are Philip and Faith Hambly.

They have created and looked after an inspirational wildlife haven made up of wildflower meadow, ancient woodland and lakes at Lethytep, their farm near Looe.

Philip, who was chairman of Cornwall Butterfly Conservation until 2020 and encouraged the making of the Butterflies of Cornwall book, is set to receive an award for his unique contribution to conservation from Mark Thomas, High Sheriff of Cornwall. Mark said that the award was for individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to life in Cornwall and that Philip “ticks all the boxes and then some!”

Butterflies of Cornwall can be purchased online by visiting http://www.cornwall-butterfly-conservation.org.uk/atlas.htm and all proceeds from the sale of the book will help to conserve butterflies and moths in Cornwall.