Does the thought of learning more about the wildlife in your local area give you butterflies? If it does then an upcoming event at Whitefield Pond in Lennoxtown could get you really buzzing.
Staff from Butterfly Conservation will be there between 1pm and 4pm on Sunday 1 August to introduce you to the wonderful world of the butterflies, bees and other beasties making their home in the native wildflower meadows.
You can drop in to the event at any time without booking. There will also be two 45 minute guided tours at 1.15pm and 2.30pm with limited attendees.
You can secure your place by booking in advance at Discover Wildflower Meadows (butterfly-conservation.org) but you may be able to join in on those on the day if there are spare spaces. Everything is completely free to take part in.
This event is open to all, and is suitable for adults and children of any age (children under 16 to be accompanied by an adult). The meadow at Whitefield Pond can be accessed through the gates at Crosshill Street, Lennoxtown.
Anthony McCluskey from Butterfly Conservation said, “The meadow at Whitefield Pond is an amazing place for wildlife like butterflies and bees. They all depend upon the rich diversity of wildflowers here, and I am looking forward to sharing those with people who come to the event.”
At the event you'll receive a free identification guide and spotter sheet to show you the rich variety of wildflowers found here.
The wildflower meadows were sown there as part of the lade upgrade works carried out by East Dunbartonshire Council at Whitefield Pond.
The degenerating existing lade was recreated as a more natural feature with emergent vegetation and wildflower meadows created around it with Common Spotted Orchid and Broad-leaved Helleborine Orchids now present on this site.
Joint Council Leader Andrew Polson, said, “The work at Whitefield Pond was all part of the Council's ongoing commitment to improve the visual amenity of the area while also promoting biodiversity and providing pollen and nectar for a wide range of insects such as bees and butterflies."
Joint Council Leader Vaughan Moody added, "Not only do the flowers brighten up the local area, they are providing excellent food sources for our pollinator population which is dramatically dwindling. More and more wildflower meadows are being planted across East Dunbartonshire in accordance with the Scottish Government Pollinator Strategy."
This event is being delivered by Butterfly Conservation staff as part of the Helping Hands for Butterflies Project. It is being kindly supported by funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Scottish Natural Heritage, and by East Dunbartonshire Council which owns and manages this site.
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