Planting wildflowers in the sun at Trinley
Trinley Braes is a mix of woodland and open meadow, on a slope overlooking busy Great Western Road in Knightswood. It was a beautiful sunny Spring day, and from the top of the brae there were lovely views over the city to Barrhead Braes and the Kilpatricks, with Ben Lomond clearly visible to the north. The day’s task was some biodiversity work for Glasgow City Council – in other words, wildflower planting. The council, along with community groups such as the local allotment association, are working to develop the area as a wildlife corridor. Wildflowers not only look lovely in the spring and summer, they also provide food and habitat for bees, butterflies and other insect life which are vitally important to the local ecosystem.
After we’d all washed our faces in the dew (for May Day of course) in a tree-shaded area we planted species such as Ragged Robin, Red Campion, Foxglove and Selfheal.
And on the sunny open meadow, Oxeye Daisy, Lady’s Bedstraw, Birdsfoot Trefoil, Mouse-ear and others.
We also found signs that a sandy bank next to the path may be used by solitary bees for nesting, so after some argument about whether it was south-facing or not (bees like to face south so they get plenty of sun) we cleared back a further stretch of bank. This also turned out to be quite a nice habitat for weary Conservation Volunteers!
executive bee housing development