From grasslands and wet meadows to streams and bat roosts, greenspaces and people's accessibility to them will be improved in this market town in the northern Cotswolds.
The work will be carried out in two parks in the town, Queen Victoria and Blenheim, along with two of the town’s cemeteries and one of the allotment sites
Grasslands will be enhanced through seeding and planting wildflower species, while scrub species such as hawthorn and blackthorn will be planted along the treeline. This creates a habitat for birds and species that live in woodland edge habitats, something called an ecotone. Marginal planting areas will be created along streams and we'll explore the possibility of installing features to support the populations of bats.
Queen Victoria Gardens
In 2019 work at this park involved activities to boost biodiversity and to create wildlife habitats alongside access improvements.
The brook running through Queen Victoria Gardens is known to burst its banks during winter and as such the path running alongside it can become inaccessible during the winter months. Alongside the Town Council, Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust installed a new tarmac path to ensure this route stays open for the majority of the year.
As well as this path, two new gravel paths were installed along the lime avenue and between the road and the playground.
In the following years, further work was carried out with trees, shrubs and wildflowers been planted in various locations to encourage a greater diversity for wildlife but also providing a variety of flowers for people to enjoy.
Moreton meadows take shape
In 2020, areas of Blenheim Meadows had turf turned over to prepare the ground for the seeding of a wildflower meadow. This initially looks quite drastic and takes time for the seed to establish. Good growth was seen in the first year, however it’s through continuous management that wildflowers are able to flourish for years to come.
Running Wild!
It was fantastic to see such support from residents who came out in force at the Fire Service College Park Run in 2019.
Lots of people came out in fancy dress to show their support for their local wildlife and the work that we will be carrying out in the following years.
For a further and entertaining read please see their page below. It’s a great event and I would encourage all to go and give it a go!
Made possible by volunteers
The first ERDF Wild Towns work parties were carried out in October 2019. We had a fantastic turn out with over 20 people coming out to get stuck in cutting willow and other scrub and tree species to create new habitat for wildlife.
Fringes of the the woodland blocks have been sculpted out, as well as coppicing and pollarding species such as willow. This promotes new growth at different levels and allows light to penetrate down to the ground allowing ground flora to grow, creating a greater structure and creating more homes for even more wildlife.