Graham Hart has been living and working in the Ariege for the last 27 years, working as a veterinary surgeon at Tarascon sur Ariege and Ax Les Thermes until retirement two years ago. For all that time he has been advising the Ariege Naturalists Association / Conservatoire des Especes Natrurelles on the conservation of the Violet Copper and is now a Council member of that association.
He holds an MSc in the Ecology and Conservation of the Violet Copper. He started studying it thirty years ago and he is still following this beautiful little butterfly with just as much passion & interest! He has given lectures about the Violet Copper at two Butterfly Conservation International Conferences and to various groups and organisations in France.
This year he has been liaising with the Conservatoire des Especes Naturelles d’Occitanie on Violet Copper conservation and helping them with their research project on the Spanish Fritillary. He is also a Climate Reality Leader of the Climate Reality Project and talks with farmers about Regenerative Agricultural practices.
Before moving to France, he was also very involved with Butterfly Conservation, being the Branch Organiser for Sussex for several years and being on the National Executive committee and the National Publicity committee for a while in the 1990’s. In short, he is a complete butterfly nut and loves sharing this passion with other people!
Graham has guided butterfly trips inside France & Spain over the years, and we are delighted to welcome him to the Greenwings team to guide on an updated version of our classic Pyrenees tour, that we first launched with the eminent late naturalist Tristan Lafranchis, over ten years ago.
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