Wildflower Meadow Creation with St Mary Redcliffe Church and Avon Wildlife Trust

BID Lead
Tom Swithinbank
Email Tom Swithinbank
Other Projects

Creating a wildflower meadow in front of St Mary Redcliffe Church with the help of Avon Valley Wildlife Trust.

Project Type
IMPROVING SUSTAINABILITY & THE ENVIRONMENT
Date
October 2022 - Present

2023

We planted a range of plants, designed to flower at different times of year and provide a rich habitat within the church gardens. There are a mix of over 40 different annuals, biennials and perennials, including Common Knapweed, Birds-foot Treefoil, Meadow Cranesbill, Lady’s Bedstraw. 

The diversity of different shaped and coloured flowers provide nectar and pollen for a wide variety of insects. By planting wildflower meadows like this in gardens, community spaces, allotments and public spaces we can help reverse the decline in insect numbers and biodiversity that are part of the ecological emergency.

In October 2023 we worked with Avon Wildlife Trust again to create a fifth bed at the church.

We’re always on the lookout for more opportunities for other locations to add wildlife and colour, get in touch with Tom with any suggestions.

2022

On Tuesday 18 October and 15 November 2022 , Redcliffe & Temple BID, Avon Wildlife Trust and St Mary Redcliffe Church collaborated to create a wildflower meadow on the church grounds. Joined by volunteers from local businesses, the session acted a much appreciated free lunchtime activity for the surrounding community.

We planted a range of plants, designed to flower at different times of year and provide a rich habitat within the church gardens. The diversity of the shapes and colours of the plants will provide nectar and pollen for a range of insects. Plants added include: Common Knapweed, Birds-foot Treefoil, Meadow Cranesbill, Lady’s Bedstraw. 

 

We were thrilled to be joined by so many volunteers including a team from Wardell Armstrong (pictured), Double Tree by Hilton, Natural England, Cushman & Wakefield, Womble Bond Dickinson, Churchman Thornhill Finch, Arcadis, National Housing Federation, and Mott Macdonald who kindly spent their lunch break giving back to the local community.

James Rodliff, Operations Manager at St Mary Redcliffe Church

These wildflower meadows have made such a difference to this area of Redcliffe and we are absolutely touched to have so many people from the local area and businesses come to help make such a difference. We are touched to have everyone's support, with Avon Wildlife Trust providing us with their expertise and to Redcliffe & Temple BID who have helped and supported this amazing work.

Shaun Waycott, Grow Wilder Nursery Office for Avon Wildlife Trust

We planted four new wildflower beds with native wild flowers to provide food for pollinators such as butterflies, bees and hoverflies and to add some biodiversity to this area. It's fantastic to work with the local community to do this.

Tom Swithinbank, Project Manager at Redcliffe & Temple BID

We really wanted to do this to add some colour to this great location and involve people who work locally to get them out on their lunch break. We're grateful to St Mary Redcliffe Church for working with us on this and to everyone who has come out to help.

Our Sustainability Commitment

We identified six SDGs which we will focus on during this BID term. 
This project primarily supports SDG13 – Climate Action, SDG3 – Good Health and Wellbeing and SDG4 – Quality Education