OTLEY 2030 and Wildlife Friendly Otley are looking for local volunteers to help with looking after the Weston Community Nature Garden at Weston Lane Juniors Football Club.
A team from the two local charities created the garden earlier this year in partnership with the football club. It is part of a larger nature and climate project in the area, led by Otley 2030 and funded by West Yorkshire Combined Authority through Leeds City Council’s Community Climate Grant programme.
A corner of the football club’s land, (away from the pitches) has been planted as a wildflower meadow with beds of wildflowers and perennials to attract bees and butterflies, birds and small mammals, with the aim of creating a garden which is beneficial to nature as well as local people.
A spokesperson for Wildlife Friendly Otley said: “It’s getting quieter at the garden as we head into autumn, but this summer we’ve seen a variety of insects, including meadow brown butterflies, shield bugs, bees and hoverflies. There are also often red kites circling overhead. The numbers and variety of bugs, birds and mammals we see will increase as the garden develops. It’s really exciting!”
The Wildlife Friendly Otley and Otley 2030 team mow paths in the garden to encourage people to walk around and enjoy the space. They are still adding plants to the beds as they develop through the seasons and also do a regular litter pick. Coop Funeralcare in Otley has kindly donated a bench, and pupils from Ashfield Primary School have provided their artistic talents. Children entered a competition to create artworks of the plants, insects, mammals and birds that will be attracted to the new habitats developing in the garden. The winning entries are now featured on an interpretation board at the garden, and will also be featured in an exhibition at the next Otley Wildlife Arts Festival in October. The entries are being generously framed by The Art Works in central Otley.
A spokesperson for Otley 2030 said: “We’re really hoping to make this garden a place that both people and wildlife want to be! It’s all part of a wider project involving both the Football Club and Social Club – you may have noticed that we added solar panels to both buildings this summer, helping them to be more energy efficient and to save money on their bills.”
In late autumn, the Weston team, along with the Friends of Weston Playpark, will plant some fruit trees in the grassy areas around the play area and plan to improve the existing hedges. All of this planting will attract wildlife and improve biodiversity as well as providing visual amenity, not to mention free food as the trees grow and provide fruit. Pupils from Ashfield Primary School will again be involved, helping with the planting and learning what the trees will offer to wildlife and the community.
If you live locally and would like to help out with the maintenance of the garden, which may include tasks such as mowing paths, watering (mainly over the summer), litter picking or planting, get in touch at comms@otley2030.com.
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