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Utility group helps community sow wildflower meadow
A utility group has joined forces with a community wildlife project to create more than 650m² of wildflower meadow.
The meadow, which runs parallel with the Concorde Way cycle path, complements an orchard, pond, wetland and nature walk which have been created around Lockleaze Sports Centre by Really Wild Lockleaze, a project working to increase nature and wildlife habitats in the area.
48 community volunteers helped to sow an initial strip of wildflower meadow at the edge of the centre’s sports field last September, and were concerned recently when the OCU group, contracted by National Grid, were forced to dig up half the meadow to lay a new electricity cable to Rolls Royce in Filton.
is needed now More than ever
But the OCU team has been keen to make amends, paying to rectify the damage and returning on their days off to help with resowing.
The OCU Group are contracted by National Grid to lay a new pipe to Filton. Members of their team, like Billy, have been returning to Lockleaze to help resow a meadow that was damaged by the work
Their enthusiasm has resulted in a hugely expanded area of wildflower meadow, nearly three times larger than the initial strip, which will brighten up the field and create a buzz of insects as the flowers bloom in the coming months.
Sowing seeds on his day off, OCT site manager Billy Halfyard said: “I wanted to support this project because of the difference these local residents are making for wildlife with all the meadow areas they are creating in Lockleaze”.
Really Wild Lockleaze is responding to the dramatic decline in native plant species in the country, with 97 per cent of wildflower meadows lost since World War Two.
As well as the work around the sports centre, the project has been sowing wildflowers on the neighbourhood’s green verges, and improving habitat for wildlife in residents’ gardens with the help of Avon Wildlife Trust ecologist Eric Banks.
Volunteers have helped to create a pond and wetland area near the sports centre, and planted hundreds of native trees in nearby fields
“It is really great to find that the OCU Group were so willing to replace what they have had to damage, and to go even further and create so much more meadow,” said Eleanor Fairbraida of Lockleaze Neighbourhood Trust and Really Wild Lockleaze.
“It is inspiring when you find people so motivated to help nature. Our volunteers would have been really upset if the meadow wasn’t there after all their hard work, but now they, and the bees and butterflies, will have even more to enjoy!”
All images: Really Wild Lockleaze
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