Category: Programme workstream

Connecting young people to nature

, by Cumbernauld LL
Overview Our schools programme provided opportunities for children to be closely involved in practical projects, to create pockets of urban wetland habitat through rain gardens and diversifying areas of amenity grassland with wildflowers. We worked intensively with 96 young people at risk of disengaging from high schools and colleges; each group took part in a 6-month Natural Connections programme, where…

Natural Connections Education

, by Cumbernauld LL
We’re working with primary and secondary schools across Cumbernauld to deliver award-winning education sessions that connect young people to nature. Sessions provide opportunities for young people to spend more time outdoors, getting to know their local greenspaces and gaining a better understanding what they can do to help protect them.   Early connections sessions Our primary school sessions get pupils engaging with the nature on…

Access to Nature

, by Cumbernauld LL
Cumbernauld is incredibly green and most people live within walking distance of a park or nature reserve. However, these greenspaces are not always as accessible as they should be. Narrow walkways, uneven surfaces, tough gradients and overgrown vegetation can all cause issues for people using wheelchairs, bikes and buggies, and for people with other mobility issues or special requirements. Over…

Wild Ways Well

, by Cumbernauld LL
Spending time with nature improves wellbeing The Wild Ways Well project has demonstrated what most of us already know instinctively. Spending time outdoors, in nature, makes people feel better about themselves and their lives. Wild Ways Well gets people suffering from, or at risk of, poor mental health out into greenspaces. Whilst out amongst the trees, parks, and reserves, participants…

Nature Ninjas volunteering

, by Cumbernauld LL
Our Nature Ninjas volunteers helped our Creating Natural Connections project to improve local greenspaces with their hard work and dedication. The group met weekly and took part in various conservation activities, which included: Planting native trees to create more sustainable, biodiverse woodlands for the future Removing invasive plants to help native species flourish Creating wildflower meadows to expand Cumbernauld’s nectar…

Brilliant Bogs

, by Cumbernauld LL
Cumbernauld Living Landscape has worked with North Lanarkshire Council to restore raised peat bogs at some of the town’s key greenspaces. Peat bogs are one of the most important habitats on the planet, providing a range of benefits often described as “ecosystem services”. Despite forming over millennia, Britain has lost as much as 94% of its peatlands in the past…

Cumbernauld Community Park

, by Cumbernauld LL
We’ve been working with North Lanarkshire Council and Friends of Cumbernauld Community Park to enhance the greenspace for both people and wildlife. As part of our Nectar Networks projects, we have created a new wildflower meadow at the park, plus a meadow of unharvested oats. The wildflower meadow not only brings colour to the park in summer, it has also…

Nectar Networks

, by Cumbernauld LL
We’re working with North Lanarkshire Council to create a series of ‘Nectar Networks’ across Cumbernauld. Nectar Networks are managed areas of naturalised grassland, often featuring native wildflowers. They are wildlife havens, creating vital habitat for a great variety of bees, butterflies and other pollinating insects. They can also develop into beautiful landscape features, especially when in full bloom. In these…

Tackling the invaders

, by Cumbernauld Living Landscape
We have a number of invasive species in Cumbernauld, including Japanese knotweed, Himalayan balsam, snowberry, rhododendron, and potentially, Spanish bluebell. The presence and spread of these species pose significant threats to the health and sustainability of our local wildlife, and coordinated action is needed to ensure we can achieve this. The Tackling the Invaders project included developing a strategy to…

Woodland Projects

, by Cumbernauld Living Landscape
Cumbernauld Living Landscape has been working with North Lanarkshire Council to improve woodlands in selected locations across the town. Although Cumbernauld is a very green place, many of its woodlands are densely populated with the kind of trees that don’t provide the best homes for wildlife. In some areas, the trees are also vulnerable to storm damage, risking harm to…

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