A rare wildflower is thriving at Wirral Country Park following ongoing conservation work to look after, manage and protect the grasslands.
Wirral Country Park’s meadow conservation projects have been running for a number of years with the aim of increasing wildflowers and improving habitats for local wildlife.
This summer, a locally rare species, Dyer’s Greenweed, has flourished at the meadows at Wirral Country Park. These meadows form part of the nationally protected Dee Cliffs Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).
The North West Rare Plant Initiative are working with local partners, Natural England and our Wirral Country Park Rangers to harvest some of the seeds of Dyer’s Greenweed so more can be grown around the North West.
Wirral Country Park has previously won a Bees Needs Award in recognition of the work undertaken to support pollinators and as the meadows flourish with wildflowers, these site becomes even more important to protect so that our wildlife can be supported.
With lots of wildlife already setting up home at Wirral Country Park, the increased wildflowers will support their habitats – rangers are predicting an increase in butterflies and moths in future summer months.
Other work undertaken at this site includes the creation of paths to protect the sites and prevent damage to the wildflowers and any wildlife. Specialist machinery has also been bought for the area to improve drainage – this is part of another Natural England Conservation Enhancement Scheme for the freshwater ponds in the area.
All of the work at Wirral Country Park, as well as a lot of our other parks sites, wouldn’t be possible without the huge support of the community through our various volunteer programmes.