• Garnock Connections

    Connecting people and places within the Landscape

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Status Complete
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Network Habitat

Garnock's Buzzing

Since the second world war the UK has lost 97% of its wildflower meadows, not only does this deny us the joy of seeing an explosion of colour during the summer months, but it leaves some of our most precious bees, bugs and other pollinators without a home. The Garnock’s Buzzing project aimed to help change this and make the Garnock Connections landscape a haven for pollinators.

To do this the project created new wildflower meadows, planted pollinator friendly trees and establishied bee banks at community sites, such as at Irvine Beach Park, Kilbirnie Public Park and the Three Town Growers allotment in Ardrossan. We also have been working with communities to undertake pollinator identification events, get volunteers involved in habitat creation, and help local people undertake ecological surveys.

To deliver the project we have worked with our partners Scottish Wildlife Trust (SWT), Buglife  and the Scottish Rural College (SRUC). SWT planted new meadows and Buglife helped local landowners to plant new meadows on their land.

By carrying surveys and engaging with schools SRUC helped our communities appreciate the importance of their roadside verges in providing important refuges for our pollinators. The report written by SRUC on the importance of these roadside verges was part of the projects drive to raise awareness about insect pollinators and the importance of enhancing greenspace habitat in our towns. As part of this process we have used interpretative signage, engaged with community groups, and - perhaps most importantly - worked with local schools to help the next generation understand why these habitats are so important - and maybe get them eating  more fruit!



Click here to see the presentation which Gill Smart delivered at our Year Two Celebration event in July 2020. Gill is the Scottish Wildlife Trust's Reserves Manager for Southwest Scotland and one of the project leads on Garnock's Buzzing.

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Outputs achieved

200 school pupils engaged

2 management plans

13 interpretation signs

12.5ha of new grassland meadows

15 bee hotels or bee banks

0.5ha of butterfly habitat created

0.9ha of bare earth habitat

177 nectar-rich trees planted

7 scientific monitoring surveys

64 people attended 3 pollinator walks

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Peacock Butterfly by Jenny Tweedie (rspb-images.com)
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Peacock Butterfly by Jenny Tweedie (rspb-images.com)

Hoverfly
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Hoverfly

Newly planted pollinator-friendly road verges
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Newly planted pollinator-friendly road verges

Lochshore Meadow Creation. Credit Hamish Gilbert
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Lochshore Meadow Creation. Credit Hamish Gilbert

Meadow Irvine Beach Park. Credit Scottish Wildlife Trust
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Meadow Irvine Beach Park. Credit Scottish Wildlife Trust

Meadow Management in Irvine. Credit Scottish Wildlife Trust
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Meadow Management in Irvine. Credit Scottish Wildlife Trust

Did you know?

There are 24 species of bumblebee in the UK. 18 of these are social species while the remaining 6 are cuckoo bumblebees who live a parasitic lifestyle by taking over existing nests established by other species.

Photo credit: Grahame Madge (rspb-images.com)