NESS BOTANIC GARDENS WILDLIFE CONSERVATION ZONE
This page is under construction and will provide details about creation at Ness of new species-rich wildflower grassland as a habitat for wild bees and honey bees, butterflies, moths and a wide range of other invertebrates plus habitat for birds, small mammals and larger mammals such as badger, that use the site as a foraging area.
The Ness Gardens wildflower grassland sprang into life in April 2008 when an area of rough grassland overlooking the Dee Estuary, almost two hectares in area, was ploughed to a depth of up to one metre (inverting the whole soil profile) bringing sandy subsoil to the surface, in order to create a suitable infertile habitat for the establishment of meadow wildflowers. The creation of the this area was possible due to a generous gift of £10,000 from the Friends of Ness Gardens which covered the cost of ploughing and British native wildflower seeds which were sown on the area.
The established species-rich grassland, in summer 2008, provided a spectacular display of cornfield annuals such as cornflower, corn marigold and corn chamomile. In subsequent years a much wider variety of plants have established, flowered and dispersed seeds and 75 species have been recorded by an enthusiastic group of volunteers.
The meadow has already become a valuable wildlife habitat which supports a wide
range of insects such as wild and honey bees, butterflies, moths and beetles and
also provides a food source for wild birds, small mammals and foraging badgers.
Our volunteers have recorded 16 different species of butterfly including the
scarce Wall Brown and Small Copper, Small Skipper and Common Blue plus eight
species of Bumblebee. Thus the wildflower grassland strongly enhances the
existing key role of Ness Botanic Gardens as an important high biodiversity hot
spot in South Wirral.
THE CHANGING FACE OF THE MEADOW
