The purpose of CART is to ensure that the efforts of the Upper Thames Branch lead to a greater number of better managed spaces for butterflies and moths, and therefore to more of both. As its name suggests this committee concerns itself primarily with two functions: seeing that the sites we believe are most important are being properly managed (conserved), and that local changes are being recorded.

In the execution of the first function we act both directly, for instance on our own reserve at Holtspur Bottom and through the advice we give to various partner conservation bodies and private owners of key habitats. CART members make site visits to assess habitat quality and suggest methods to improve conditions for a range of butterfly and moth species.

Our recording effort is equally important and immensely successful. No other local recording scheme achieves comparable results. Not only do we collect data about all the species flying in each 10km square within the UTB area, but we also monitor species' abundance through transects. Recording also feeds back information about the condition of the site to allow managers to fine tune their work to be more effective.

Holtspur Bottom