Thanks to sponsorship from local estate agent, Heather and Lay, print copies of the new 2021 Urban Buzz Wildflower Meadow guide are being given to pupils in year 6 in all five of Falmouth’s Primary schools. The guide covers both the wildflowers found in the meadows and the bees that they attract. Its distribution is being organised by Jacqui Owen, the Visitor & Community Engagement Officer for Falmouth Town Council in partnership with Cormac.
The restrictions imposed as a result of Covid-19 made the summer of 2020 very different. One change was to prevent the holding of the ParkLive festivals that normally held each month from April to September in Kimberley Park. In response the dedicated team behind the festivals moved them onto YouTube to streamed them live with an option to view later - you can find their channel here: ParkLive YouTube Channel
The Parklive festivals are built around live music performance from local singers and groups with the inclusion of other performing arts such as dance and spoken word. The move to streaming on YouTube allowed short films to be included which is when I received a phone call from Parklive Producer Simon Neild. Although surprised by the call, Simon has such energy and enthusiasm that I readily agreed to produce several short films.
With the meadows in each location now showing their individual character and potential they were the perfect subject for a short film. So without further ado, I proudly present my celebration of these magical meadows that truly are bringing something special to our town.
This is the second summer for our wildflower meadows and they are showing their potential with over 30 wildflowers species appearing in various meadows. This guide was produced as an introduction to the meadows and to provide help to anyone trying to identify a wildflower. You can download a free copy here, https://bit.ly/2SZRH9a
Sowing seeds to create wildflower meadows marked a wonderful
start to this year. Under a clear blue sky the day began in Boscawen Road next
to the tennis courts. Arriving I was immediately impressed by the maze cut out
in the grass. A brilliant design by Howard from Cormac and Jacqui from Falmouth
Town Council and Cormac.
The brilliantly designed wildflower maze by Boscawen Road
Once volunteers had gathered we were introduced to the Urban
Buzz project by Laura from the charity Buglife. She went through the methods to
be used to sow the seed as well as explaining how the plants chosen would help
the meadow develop as the perennials established themselves. Once Laura had added sand to the mix of seeds the sowing
began. The sand helps achieve an even distribution as well as being a good
indicator of the area sown to help prevent bare patches.
The maze design will allow people to walk among the flowers
Walking round the maze it was easy to imagine how wonderful
it will look in the summer. It really is a wonderful design that will enable
people to walk among the wildflowers. I expect to be spending quite a bit of
time there recording and photographing the insects visiting the flowers.
Especially as it is so close to the beach, toilets and ice-cream, field work is
rarely this good.
Laura Larkin from the charity Buglife giving volunteers a talk before sowing began on the Gyllyng street terraces
The afternoon sowing took place on the terraces above
Gyllyng Street in the centre of Falmouth.This time as well as sowing seeds, plant plugs were also planted in the
selected area. Again Howard, Jacqui and the Cormac team had done extensive
preparation work on the chosen areas. They had also planted trees and shrubs
beneficial to pollinating insects in the terraces.
The sites had been prepared by Howard, Jacquii and the team from Cormac
The planting attracted volunteers from both locals and
students from the nearby campuses of Falmouth and Exeter universities. With such a good level of support both areas
were sown and planted with plenty of time to spare. It was a very enjoyable and
successful day and I am looking forward to seeing these areas come into flower
this summer.
The level of support and enthusiasm of the volunteers ensured the planting was accomplished early
The Urban Buzz project was created by Buglife, the charity
that works to safeguard and promote knowledge of invertebrates. Initially it
ran in selected cities in England and Wales and in four of these it created or
enhanced 138 hectares of land, that’s the equivalent of 220 football pitches.
Last year four towns in Cornwall, Falmouth, Truro, St
Austell and Wadebridge joined the project. In Falmouth the areas selected for
creating wildflower meadows are, parts of the fields alongside Boscawen Road,
the terraces above Gyllyng Street and part of the playing fields adjacent to
Dracaena Avenue.
Falmouth is one of four towns in Cornwall participating in the charity Buglife's Urban Buzz project
You could be wondering why this is happening in urbans areas
rather than in the countryside? There are a number of reasons why, the first
being is that farming practices have changed dramatically over the last few
decades. These changes in our countryside are reflected in declines of certain
species, for example farmland birds have declined by 56% in the UK since 1970.
Looking at solitary bee species a survey in 2015 found more species in
Northampton than in the surrounding countryside that included three nature
reserves. Mounting evidence suggests that urban areas are now an important
refuge for a variety of wildlife.
Nature can flourish in towns and cities - a leaf cutter bee in Kimberley Park
Another important consideration is that having a connection
with Nature can offer both physical and mental health benefits to the local
community. The science behind this is a growing area of research covering such
areas as the ways our brains responds positively to engaging with nature to how
chemicals released by plants can improve our immune system.
While these wildflower meadows will provide the opportunity
to connect with Nature to everyone whatever their age they are especially
important for children growing up in an urban environment. Hopefully these areas will stimulate their
natural curiosity and help them develop an interest in wildlife and the natural
world.
Access to the natural world to stimulate a child's natural curiosity is an essential part of their childhood. Photo: Bug Hunt held in Falmouth Cemetery 2018
I am certainly curious to see what insects will be attracted
to these areas and will not be surprised to discover species so far unrecorded
in the town. I am also hopeful that over time, species that are rarely seen
will become more common. One species I will be looking forward is the four
banded flower bee. A related species, the hairy footed flower bee is a common
sight in Kimberley Park during the spring. The four banded bee flies between
June and mid-August and is a rarer sight. With their flight period
corresponding to the peak flowering time for the new wildflower meadows I am
hoping to see an increase in their abundance over time. They are quite fast moving bees so not the easiest to film. Hats off to Charlotte Rankin who filmed this one on Cliff Road last summer.
With the seeds sown and the plants planted the clocking is
ticking down towards enjoying a wonderful summer watching these areas blossom.
A selection of photos from 2018 - click to enlarge
There are, I am sure, good lessons to be learned from the
six months of silence since the last post. While I reflect on what they might
be and announce that I will try harder to post more regularly in 2019, let’s take
a look at the highlights of 2018.
I will start with the wonderful news that Falmouth Town
Council is partnering with the charity, Buglife in the Urban Buzz project. This
will see areas of the town planted with wildflowers to help pollinator insects in
the town. I am so looking forward to seeing these areas flowering for the first time this year.
Three participants in the 2018 Bug Hunt
As part of the Urban Buzz project last August there was a
bug hunt organised by Buglife and the town council in the old parts of Falmouth
cemetery. The event attracted families who were given sweep nets and were soon
capturing a variety of interesting insects and invertebrates. There were also
pooters available to try, these are a bottle with two tubes – one to suck on
and the other to collect an insect and place it in the bottle. The hunt was so
successful that plans are being made for another one this year.
The two display boards placed in both parts of Falmouth's old cemetery to raise awareness of its importance to wildlife and the local community.
A major factor in the success of conservation efforts
depends upon raising awareness in the local community. In August the Town
Council placed two display boards in both parts of Falmouth’s old cemetery.
They inform visitors of its importance to wildlife and the fact that it
contains several rare species of solitary bees. They also display information
on conservation efforts both in the cemetery and the town.
Apart from being excited over the Urban Buzz project there
were two personal recording highlights this year. The first was discovering a
new species of bee in Falmouth, Anthophora furcata. Not only was this a new
record for this part of Cornwall but it is an interesting bee in that it is one
of the few species to make its nest by burrowing into dead wood.
A male Anthophora furcata, captured and released in a garden near Kimberley Park.
My second find was seeing my first European Hornet in
Falmouth, only saw one and only once. This is our native species and is impressively
large and unlike the Asian Hornet not a threat to beekeepers and their hives.
Despite its size it is usually a docile creature that often hunts at night.
Our native hornet, a new record for Falmouth, will we see more of them in 2019?
Another fantastic find was shown to me by Simon Penna, Head
of Maintenance for Falmouth Town Council. A number of solitary wasps were
making their nests in a dead Ash tree in Kimberley Park. Now although solitary,
that is the female usually makes an individual nest some species will share the
entrance that then leads to their own nest. This was the case with this
species, Ectemnius cephalotes and there were steady streams of female wasps bring
back captured flies to the entrance. It was fascinating watching them carry the
fly beneath them and manoeuvring it into the hole. Each egg that the wasp lays is
provision with several paralysed flies for the larvae to feed on when it
hatches. Paralysing the fly keeps it fresh for the larvae, an interesting
alternative to refrigeration but please don’t try this at home.
A female Ectemnius cephalotes solitary wasp returns to her
nest with a paralysed fly for her larvae to feed on. As an
adult wasp they will feed on nectar.
Most people only encounter and would recognise social wasps,
who like honey bees live in a nest with female workers and a queen. In Falmouth
the two species usually seen are the Common wasp (Vespula vulgaris) and the
European wasp (Vespula germanica). In October Storm Callum damaged one of the conifers in the
lower part of Falmouth cemetery. One of its lower branches was almost
completely torn from the tree. This caused a common wasp nest to fall from its
original position to be caught lower down. Thanks to the skilful work of the
cemetery manager, Matthew Brotherton and the maintenance crew not only was the
branch safely removed but the still active nest also survived. This gave a rare
chance to see the intricate design of the nest and watch the activity of the
common wasps for several weeks until the colony came to the end of its
lifecycle.
The Common Wasp nest revealed after the damage caused to a tree by Storm Callum.
The biggest impact made by the weather this year was made by
the beast from the east, an influx of
cold air that saw snow falling and settling in Falmouth. The effects of this
unusually cold spell in March were immediately seen on tender plants such as Alexander that were hit hard. Many queen bumblebees delayed establishing a nest and new colonies by up to
four weeks and many butterfly species appeared later than normal.
Solitary bee (Andrena fulva) on Alexander flowers. Being
introduced by the Romans from the Mediterranean, Alexander was hit hard by the unusually harsh weather.
Generally I saw a fall in the abundance of insects this
spring and to a lesser extent in the summer. My hope is that it was a result of
this cold spell and it is not repeated in 2019 to allow populations to recover.
Certainly with local conservation efforts the prospects look very
promising for this year. It is though a reminder that climate change is
something we all should be concerned about.
