Your Stories

Slopefield Allotment Association

Slopefield Allotment Association have tried to enhance biodiversity around the site by planting wild fruit trees and bushes, building a bug hotel, planting wildflower borders, establishing a community pond, building bird and bat nesting boxes and this summer we have added a community bird feeding area.

Individual plot holders have taken part in the “RSPB Birdwatch”, the “Big Butterfly Count”, other biodiversity surveys and some have created their own personal projects such as Loraine Milne’s photographic study of the life cycle of frogs in her small pond. The picture above is one of many taken.

Talks by Rose Toney, our local biodiversity co-ordinator, from the James Hutton Institute and Alister Allan from NESBReC (North East Scotland Biological Recording Centre) have been of great interest and have resulted in the association purchasing camera trapping equipment to record animal movements.
We have regular nocturnal visits from foxes, roe deer and hedgehogs.

Please visit their website www.slopefieldallotments.org to find out more.

Gartnavel Royal, Glasgow

Gartnavel Royal Hospital in Glasgow is one of the first sites in Scotland to take part in Keep Scotland Beautiful's biodiversity campaign. Expanding their ever-growing activity, which sees patients and volunteers become involved with areas across the site, including the newly re-designed Walled Garden.  Gartnavel Royal is utilising resources from Biodiversity to transform a hilled area on the grounds into a butterfly and bumblebee garden, for patients, visitors and volunteers alike to enjoy.

Woodlands Primary School

Woodlands Primary School in North Lanarkshire is helping pollinators in more ways than one. As well as planting our wildflower seeds, the school recently got a bee hive for their nature garden. The children have been helping to look after their buzzing buddies, feeding them sugar syrup and keeping the hive clean. They are learning about biodiversity and the important role bees play in our ecosystem. The wildflowers will provide pollen for both the bees and other insects.

You can follow their progress on their blog.

Five Sisters Zoo

Nathan Roberts and the team at Five Sisters Zoo have been working hard to create a Nature Trail to attract local pollinators. He has been planting biodiversity seeds from Keep Scotland Beautiful, with school groups, and the zoo has created some interpretation panels to illustrate the butterflies, insects and animals they are hoping to attract.

Nathan has been working closely with Keep Scotland Beautiful on biodiversity and with the Young Reporters Scotland project. He recently spoke at the ScotRail Biodiversity Workshop and attended the Young Reporters Scotland Award Ceremony. Nathan has had a varied career from caring for large carnivores and birds, to living in Costa Rica as a wildlife researcher, to his current role focusing on conservation education and communications. 

East Haven

East Haven Together are a busy group working hard to attract pollinators by building bee hotels, planting biodiversity seeds and learning all about moths. 

 East Haven Together has become involved in the Keep Scotland Beautiful's biodiversity campaign and we have been learning more about these fascinating creatures so we can identify them on our monthly bee walks. There are 24 different species of bumblebee in the UK but only 8 are commonly found in most places. We have learned that the colour of the tail and the bands around the body are key identifying features. Also, wing patterns and hair on the legs and face can help distinguish one species from another. I wouldn't recommend the studying of bee images as bedtime reading but it has certainly improved our knowledge and ability to submit survey findings to the BumbleBee Conservation Trust. We are holding a bee walk every month this year between April and October taking the same 1.2km route during which we count and identify as many bees as possible. We hope that our findings support scientists and others in the monitoring and conservation of bumblebee populations.

East Haven Together are also the first community led entry to Scotland's Beach Award, and have achieved a Gold Award in Beautiful Scotland in 2017.