New meadow proposal at Cumbernauld Community Park
“People and wildlife at the heart of Cumbernauld’s future” is our vision at Cumbernauld Living Landscape, so it’s important that wherever possible improvements we make to the town’s habitats also…
Cumbernauld Community Park
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 become part of Cumbernauld’s “Nectar Network”, creating an additional food supply for pollinating insects such as bees, butterflies and moths. Unharvested oats hark back to the area’s agricultural past, and while they may not be feeding us humans, they provide a feast for farmland birds such as skylarks, linnets and yellowhammers.
The meadows have created all sorts of opportunities for people to get involved, from mini-beast workshops with primary school pupils, to practical conservation volunteering events.
We have also developed creative signage, which shares stories about the agricultural, social and natural history of the park.
Your thoughts
In 2020 we asked for your thoughts and ideas on how we could improve Cumbernauld Community Park for the benefit of both people and wildlife. Here are some of the findings from our consultation:
87.2% of respondents said they supported the proposed meadows in the Park.
Nearly 90% of people would like to know more about the wildlife of the Park.
Nearly 70% of people would like to learn more about the history of the Park.
The most popular reasons for visiting the Park were to see the wildlife, get some fresh air, get some exercise, and to enjoy the peace and quiet and relax.
People thought the main benefits of the meadows would be to boost local biodiversity, improve health and wellbeing, give people more opportunities to see wildlife, and provide a reason for more community events.
Our online consultation is now complete, but you can still contact us with any questions, thoughts or ideas.
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Frequently Asked Questions
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 carefully managed areas the grass will be cut less often, allowing the natural grassland habitat to thrive. In some places more native grass and wildflower species will be planted to boost the area’s biodiversity.
You can read more about our Nectar Networks on the project page.
The following areas are proposed for the wildflower meadow and unharvested oat meadow:
Work was due to begin in spring 2020 (delayed due to Covid-19 restrictions), and will now begin in spring 2021.
In the areas designated as meadow the plants will be taller than the surrounding grass, but defined borders will be maintained. In the larger unharvested oat area, a pathway will be mown to allow visitors to immerse themselves in the meadow.
In summer the wildflower meadow will come into full bloom, with a rich variety of colourful native species that will attract bees, butterflies and other pollinators.
Get involved
There will be lots of ways to get involved, from practical conservation volunteering with the Nature Ninjas to volunteering your time at events run in the Community Park. Contact us to find out more about the latest opportunities.
Friends of Cumbernauld Community Park are actively working to maintain the park and promote it as an enjoyable place to visit, and always welcome new members.