From butterflies to bees and beautiful sprouting flowers, nature is flourishing throughout Dalton Park’s luscious Parkland and Pollinator Parks. Partnering with local community interest company, Climate Action North has enhanced our rewilding landscapes, so we can do our bit for the local community and environment.
Climate Action North conducted an interesting biodiversity survey, which details the kinds of life you can find at Dalton Park and they are also rewilding the area to provide more access to nature and help pollinators thrive. We asked them questions and the Ecology and Rewilding Director of Climate Action North explained the following:
Question 1: What are biodiversity and pollinators?
Climate Action North: “Biodiversity, or biological diversity, simply means all of the kinds of life we have in any given place on earth, such as animals, plants, fungi, and even bacteria. Everything works together in what is known as an ecosystem and like a spider’s web, everything is connected.”
“Pollinators are the insects such as bees, butterflies, moths, birds, and wasps that visit flowers to drink nectar or feed from pollen. When doing so they transfer pollen to other plants as they move around and this helps fertilize fruit, as well as the seeds, which then provides us with the food we eat.”
Question 2: Why is it important to protect nature and what is rewilding?
Climate Action North: “For years, nature hasn’t been seen as a partner, but rather as something to defeat and destroy. The results are disastrous. Over half of our species are in decline. 15 percent are threatened with extinction, and predators have been hunted to extinction.”
“Rewilding has great potential to restore natural processes and missing species to increase biodiversity, give nature a helping hand and to repair some of the worst effects of climate change. Ultimately, rewilding improves the balance between people and the rest of nature, so we can live better and thrive alongside nature.”
Question 3: What rewilding has been happening at Dalton Park over the last few years working with Climate Action North?
Climate Action North: “Since we planted wildflowers and opened the Pollinator Parks® garden near M&S in 2020, we have seen an increase in pollinators such as bees, butterflies, plants, and wildflowers. We carried out three important surveys in 2023 and found the below.”
Bees: “Red-tailed and Buff-Tailed Bumble Bees, and Common Carder Bees.”
Butterflies and moths: “6 different species including Large and Small Skippers, Common Blue, Meadow Brown, Cinnabar and Silver Y Moths”
Dragonflies and Damselflies: “3 species including Broad Bodied Chaser Dragonfly and Large Red and Common Blue Damselflies”
Wildflowers & Grasses: “51 different species including some special wildflowers such as Hop Trefoil, Glaucous Sedge and Tufted Vetch”
“Rewilding areas around Dalton Park is certainly making a difference. The small Pollinator Parks® garden has over 350 wildflowers and isn’t mown, except for one late summer cut a year. This helps keep the meadow flourishing with the best wildflowers year after year. We have recorded four different types of Wild Orchids, Pyramidal, Common Spotted, Northern Marsh and Bee Orchid.”
Question 4: What can we look forward to in 2024 working with Climate Action North?
Climate Action North: “2024 will be another exciting year as we continue to rewild landscapes found at Dalton Park. We are aiming to create more “pocket” rewilding spaces to attract more butterflies around the wider nature area.”
“Did you know Dalton Park once had a population of a butterfly called the “Grayling” found by conservation charity Butterfly Conservation and that Dalton Park was one of only three sites in the North East to have this species? This year, we aim to plant up areas with wildflowers and plants to attract this and other butterflies. Who knows, the Grayling may still be here or come back.”
“In 2024, Dalton Park and Climate Action North will host many more wildlife and well-being walks in the Parklands and drop-in talks in the Pollinator Parks® garden once it reopens in March.”
To keep up to date with our work with Climate Action North check out our sustainability page here.
