Wild flower zones

[washerboy]

I work in a busy part of S****horpe on the site of a main road near the steelworks . Next door is an electrical housing until with a few trees and a good bit of grassed area .The last few weeks they have been marking out two large areas of grass and weed killing it and today it was turned over and levelled ready for wild flowers to be planted or seeds sown. Rather strange as it will only been seen by a few works at my place or the odd worker on their site . Was told today it’s become the new thing to do to attract butterflies and other insects. I do hope it works , do you think the government are paying for this ? 

[Mice!]

probably got a grant from somewhere? Seem to see lots of wild flowers and such along the motorways around Lancashire, probably good until they fly into a truck.

[ClemFandango]

who know's who is funding it. If it is government ask your local council maybe? 

It's been done near me by the local beekeepers association 

It's surely a good thing though? 

p.s. I find it funny that the swear filter picks up on the **** in s****horpe 

 

[Puggers]

No idea who funds it round my way but there are several sites and growing in number over the past couple of years, ranging from small plots of a few feet square to huge great swathes - they look great and when sitting in traffic, you can see them covered in bees, butterflies, etc.

[figgy]

I think its a good idea as it will provide a safe haven that wont get disturbed for insects and wildlife.

[washerboy]

I like the idea it’s just unusual being on an industrial site that has no access to the public as it’s an electric substation 

[scotslad]

The fact it has no public acces makes it an even better site!!

Public access is not good for wildlife, fair enough if 'responsible access' but sadly that is almost never the case nowadays.

U'd have free ranging dogs terrorising anyting living/nesting on the ground.

 

1 thing about wild flower sites why do they need to be re sown every year?? U'd think once u planted them they'd be self sustaining.

We've just planteda patch with wildflowers last week, see how it goes. But i can see it being a surprisng ammount of work in future by time u weedkill, strim?, work ground and plant every year

[washerboy]

I see rabbits on the ground every day, have seen the odd cock pheasant and once or twice the odd partridge. 8 or 9 years ago there was a large parrot living in the trees that had obviously escaped. 

[kennett]

19 hours ago, scotslad said:

The fact it has no public acces makes it an even better site!!

Public access is not good for wildlife, fair enough if 'responsible access' but sadly that is almost never the case nowadays.

U'd have free ranging dogs terrorising anyting living/nesting on the ground.

 

1 thing about wild flower sites why do they need to be re sown every year?? U'd think once u planted them they'd be self sustaining.

We've just planteda patch with wildflowers last week, see how it goes. But i can see it being a surprisng ammount of work in future by time u weedkill, strim?, work ground and plant every year

Try leaving it and see what happens. There is a strip on the farm I shoot on that was put in a lot of years ago, has never had any management other than me topping it in Sept/Oct and it is a sea of oxe eye daisy, black knapweed and a few other plants.

[Walker570]

Yep, if you want to destroy the countryside , then let the public in.   Look at the set aside strips round fields where people feel they have been left for them to walk and excersise their dogs .  Industrial sites where there is little disturbance are ideal for this sort of project and there are lots of them, sewage farms, electric pylon bases even.    During my time visiting Texas, USA, I saw the Highways Dept actually sowing wild flowers along the verges of freeways and in the spring it was a joy to drive down an avenue of blues, yellow, reds, orange for hundreds of miles.

[JDog]

On 31/05/2018 at 20:56, washerboy said:

I work in a busy part of S****horpe on the site of a main road near the steelworks . Next door is an electrical housing until with a few trees and a good bit of grassed area .The last few weeks they have been marking out two large areas of grass and weed killing it and today it was turned over and levelled ready for wild flowers to be planted or seeds sown. Rather strange as it will only been seen by a few works at my place or the odd worker on their site . Was told today it’s become the new thing to do to attract butterflies and other insects. I do hope it works , do you think the government are paying for this ? 

I know the land you mean but I have no idea who is funding the wild flowers.

All will be well until the summer wind changes round and comes from the north east at which time the plants and the bees will be covered in sulphur.

[ClemFandango]

27 minutes ago, JDog said:

I know the land you mean but I have no idea who is funding the wild flowers.

All will be well until the summer wind changes round and comes from the north east at which time the plants and the bees will be covered in sulphur.

 

 

Edited June 2, 2018 by ClemFandango