VielFalterGarten

In the UNP+ project, the Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ and iDiv collaborate with 11 academic partners and several European cities. VielFalterGarten is currently applied in Belgrade, Burgas, Mannheim, Leipzig and Berlin. More cities are welcome to join.

1. Joint Nature Experience and Discovery: By mapping butterflies as indicators of biodiversity, citizens engage to map their cities’ green spaces (gardens, allotments, parks). Through learning-by-doing, VielFalterGarten promotes knowledge about butterflies and the nature-friendly design of urban green spaces and gardens. Participants gain skills and confidence to identify butterflies and to take conservation action themselves. Ultimately, the goal is to inspire active engagement and responsible environmental stewardship in people’s immediate surroundings.
2. Conservation: Butterflies are supported through targeted measures such as planting host and nectar plants, establishing flower strips, and adapting mowing regimes in both private and public green spaces.
3. Capacity building and networking: By actively connecting diverse stakeholders in urban areas, VielFalterGarten fosters sustainable collaboration in Leipzig and expands its reach to other cities across Germany and Europe through UNP+.

Everyone is welcome to join.

Citizen scientists use the VielFalterGarten App (within Germany) or the Butterfly Count App (outside Germany) to count butterflies using the 15-minute count protocol. Data can also be reported using a paper recording sheet. Participants choose an urban green space—such as a private garden, park, green courtyard or backyard, cemetery, etc.—of approximately 500 m² (10x50m² or 20x25m²). Sites can be registered on the VielFalterGarten website or within the Butterfly Count App. During each count, all butterflies observed within 15 minutes are recorded. Ideally, the same site is visited every two weeks (at least three times) during the butterfly season between April and September under warm, sunny, and windless weather conditions.

VielFalterGarten App and Butterfly Count App (free of charge). Please also find free training material, identification guides, data collection forms, flyers and posters on our website. In addition we provide VielFalterGarten signs and offer workshops and guided butterfly walks in different cities.

Between 2020 and 2024, participants observed over 11,000 butterflies on 305 registered sites in Leipzig. Impressively, they identified 44 of the 45 butterfly species known to occur in Leipzig — including some rare species. Of the 810 registered participants, 164 count regularly. The VielFalterGarten initiative has already been successfully expanded to Mannheim, Berlin, and Belgrade, with additional cities set to follow soon.

VielFalterGarten was established in Leipzig as a joint project between UFZ/iDiv, BUND Leipzig and the city of Leipzig funded by the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) from 2020 to 2024. It now continues within the Horizon Europe project Urban Nature Plans+ (UNP+, 2024–2026).