Wildflowers may be a trifle untidy but they are colourful and beneficial to butterflies, bees and other important pollinating insects
ROADSIDE verges are bursting with colour and buzzing with wildlife as wildflowers come into bloom along many of the area's main roads.
North East Lincolnshire Council is transforming some of its roadsides into wildflower meadows as part of long-term nature project to create rich habitat for plants and wildlife.
In 2016, staff from the ecology and grounds maintenance teams started sowing wildflower seeds in areas including Peaks Parkway, the A46 Laceby Road and Mathew Ford Way.
They sowed a mixture of annual, biennial, and perennial seeds, which add diversity to the roadside verges and mean each season has a different appearance. Grass cutting was scaled back on the seeded verges to allow the new plants to flourish.
As well as seeding, some areas were left to grow and develop naturally to see what plants were already there. This way, the plants that grow are the plants native to the area and well adapted to the local conditions.
On patches of land opposite the Municipal Offices in Grimsby, bee orchids can be found.
Says Cllr Stewart Swinburn, NELC'd portfolio holder for Environment: "Careful stewardship of the wildflower sites over the past six years is now reaping results and treating people travelling around the area to gorgeous natural displays of native plants.
"More importantly, the verges are a haven for wildlife. They provide food and habitat for bees, beetles, flies, moths and butterflies – all prolific pollinators – and the birds and bats that feed on them.
"Spending time in nature is known to have many benefits for our physical and mental wellbeing, so now is a perfect time to explore and find out more about the unique environment on our doorstep."
At the forefront of the initiative is NELC's ecology manager, Rachel Graham, who comments: "With this long-term project, we are creating a network of wildflower corridors that link green spaces in different parts of the borough to increase biodiversity and give back to nature.
"We are taking a sustainable approach with a mix of seeding and natural regeneration, which means it may take longer for the plants to become established but should give them longevity."
She continues: "This is something people can replicate in their gardens at home.
"One option is to let part of lawns grow naturally for a month in May or June, restraining from mowing until later in the year - this can make a big difference to wildlife."
The following have been identified as good places to see wildflowers in North East Lincolnshire:
* A16 Peaks Parkway
* Cleethorpes Boating Lake railway banks
* Cleethorpes Boating Lake
* RNLI bank Central Prom
* Scartho Road cemetery
* Hewitt’s Belvoir woodland copse
* Kings Road, opposite Meridian Showground
* Patrick Street walk-through to People’s Park
* Martin Wragg Way
* Weelsby Avenue
* Matthew Ford Way
* A16 Louth Road Roundabout
* A46 Laceby Road
* A180 Westgate
* Ainslie Street Park
* Cleethorpes Country Park
* Cleethorpes Sand Dunes
* Haverstoe Park Wildlife Area
* Laceby Beck
* West Marsh Country Park
* Grant Thorold Park
The Grimsby News says: Well done to Rachel Graham and her small team for their imagination and hard work on this excellent initiative. In the recent past, the council, for the sake of 'tidiness', has been far too ready to reach for chemical herbicides in order to poison plantlife on the area's roadside verges. This refreshing change of approach is encouraging and greatly to be commended.
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