Natural Connections – Transforming your views into actions

Cumbernauld Living Landscape is currently conducting a community consultation regarding improvements to the entrance to North Lanarkshire Council’s beautiful, Ravenswood Local Nature Reserve.

These improvements include a small outdoor classroom to encourage local primary and secondary schools usage and stewardship of the site. Redesigning the butterfly garden to provide a haven for pollinators and creating a space that local residents can enjoy.

Surrounding the outdoor classroom will be a very low log wall, a great place for insects, mosses and fungi to colonise.  Planting Hawthorn and Blackthorn will provide suitable nesting sites for birds and hopefully provide berries for foraging (blackthorn berries are especially good to make gin!)

The planting regime in the butterfly garden will be carefully considered to reflect the need to make the site self-sustaining, reducing the man-power required for maintenance and to allow us the space where nature can do its own thing without too much intervention.  All plants will be native and ones which are suited to the site conditions and soil type.

So far we have had great responses from the local residents and a few other suggestions which we are looking at adding to the Community Action Plan for the site.  We have also had interest from the local residents to help out during the process.

Our aim is for this small project to have a positive impact for wildlife, the surrounding area and the site itself.  If you are interested in helping out get in touch – tlambert@scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk

I look forward to hearing from you