Kids sow the seeds of a green future in Bearsden park

Date: 
Friday, 24 September, 2021

Man, children and Woman weeding and planting

It was all hands to the trowel at the weekend as work got underway to create a wildflower area within Colquhoun Park in Bearsden.

Officers from our Streetscene team worked with the newly formed Colquhoun Park Community Group to plant a variety of wildflowers in the newly fenced off section of the SuDS area on Saturday, September 18. Sustainable drainage systems, known as SuDS, are designed to manage storm water locally by mimicking natural drainage and provide protection against flooding.

The purpose of the planting was to provide a "wilder" experience for children when they visit their local park. The planting also allowed them to experience a hands on experience of biodiversity, as well as creating a visually attractive area for visitors to enjoy.

Bird's-foot Trefoil, Cat's Ear, Yarrow and Ox Eye Daisy were amongst the wildflowers planted by around 20 green-fingered volunteers, including enthusiastic local children. Over the coming weeks, the Countryside Rangers will plant further wildflowers and also sow Yellow Rattle seed in the wider SUDS area as well as Meadow Cranesbill, Betony and Meadow Buttercup to create a more attractive area and one which provides essential habitat for pollinating insects such as bumble bees.

man and children weeding and plantingJoint Council Leader Andrew Polson, said, “The aim of the planting was to create an interesting, colourful, sustainable greenspace for the community of Bearden which includes adaptations for our changing climate. We would like to thank all those who came along on Saturday and got their hands dirty and look forward to seeing the final results of all the hard work.”

Joint Council Leader Vaughan Moody added, "With the upcoming COP 26 event in Glasgow, issues such as improving the biodiversity of our green spaces and creating sustainable parks which can cope with the challenges of climate change are very much in the spotlight. We know from previous engagement events that these issues are important to the people of East Dunbartonshire.”  

Jillian Connolly set up the Colquhoun Park Community Group earlier this year to bring people together while helping to improve the local area. “This event was a great example of how our community has grown to get to know one another and work with EDC to improve our local area. It shows how we as a community are willing to contribute to making Colquhoun Park a better place to live, visit and sustain for future generations. I look forward to future events where our community can learn about the biodiversity of our park.”

 

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