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 1.30pm and 3.30pm on Friday 15 July 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 a guided tour at 2pm. You can secure your place by booking in advance on the Butterfly Conservation website 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, “Last year's event was such a success we decided to bring it back.
"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 at Whitefield Pond, which were sown as part of the lade upgrade works carried out by East Dunbartonshire Council.
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.
Paul Ferretti, Convener of the Place, Neighbourhood & Corporate Assets committee, said, "Last year's event proved very popular with the local community and I'm sure there will be a buzz about East Dunbartonshire when people find out it's happening again.
"The Council is committed to promoting biodiversity and providing pollen and nectar for a wide range of insects such as bees and butterflies and the wildflower meadow at Whitefield is a great example of the work that continues to take place across East Dunbartonshire.
"The flowers really brighten up the local area but they also provide excellent food sources for our pollinator population which we all know is dramatically dwindling."
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 Nature Scot, and by East Dunbartonshire Council who owns and manages this site.
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