WORK has begun to enhance a number of Denbighshire wildflower meadows.

Denbighshire County Council’s Biodiversity team has started a programme of plug planting and enhancement work across 10 meadows.

The meadows vary from site to site and usually contain a variety of native grasses and wildflowers.

Wildflowers at the sites are mostly native perennial species, which means they will come back every year and support the greatest amount of wildlife.

Plug planting more flowers, grown at the council’s tree nursery, at a number of sites will help create more colourful, diverse meadows and better biodiversity support for nature and communities.

Bringing back and maintaining these wildflower meadow areas is a step in helping to reverse the decline and increase species’ richness.

The council has committed to capitalising on using its grassland areas for this purpose, where appropriate.

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Wildflowers in county meadows provide bees and other pollinators with food across the year which supports the food chain.

Without this habitat support for insects, nature’s pollinators would be less, as these pollinators support the growth of most fruit and vegetables.

Wildflower meadow soil can also sequester as much carbon as woodlands, reducing greenhouse gases to help tackle climate change.

Cllr Barry Mellor, lead member for environment and transport and biodiversity champion, said:  “Enriching and enhancing the meadows with more plants, especially in urban areas, will help create better connected corridors to support nature to travel and pollinate other sites tackling the nature emergency and encouraging more nature back into towns for residents to enjoy.

“Enhancing the meadows also provides benefits for everybody, not just nature, with other community benefits including improved air quality, urban heat cooling, physical and mental wellbeing and areas of mixed interest for education and play.

“We are extremely grateful to the volunteers and our staff for helping introduce these plants to the sites selected that have been grown from seeds taken from existing flowers on our meadows,

Plug planting and other enhancement work is taking place at:

•            Green Lane, Corwen

•            ATS roundabout, Denbigh

•            Parc Alafowlia Fields, Denbigh

•            Maes Lliwen, Nantglyn

•            Bastion Road Park, Prestatyn

•            Meliden Embankment, Prestatyn

•            Rhyl Coast Road

•            Vincent Close, Rhyl

•            Fern Way, Rhyl

•            Llys Brenig Park, Rhyl

If you are interested in volunteering to help out with plug planting at a community site, there are a number of opportunities for you to get involved.

Please email biodiversity@denbighshire.gov.uk for further details.