Kettering
In many landscapes, habitats for butterflies and moths can be fragmented and isolated, so habitat creation schemes such as butterfly banks have an important role to play. The creation of butterfly banks can provide new breeding habitat and create open sunny areas with disturbed ground.
The new butterfly bank at the Green Patch Community Gardens in Kettering was created on an existing steep slope. To prepare the site, the slope was cleared of some vegetation, including brambles. Gabion cages were then installed – these cages are filled with rocks at the front of the butterfly bank to help keep the soil in place and stop the bank subsiding.
The gabion cages were filled with dove-grey limestone rocks and more topsoil was added to the bank to raise the lower portion of the slope in line with the top of the gabions. Calcareous granules were added to the topsoil and mixed – this helps to adjust the pH to make it more suitable for the perennial and annual bee and butterfly wildflower mix that was subsequently sown. To make the new butterfly bank engaging for visitors, a site volunteer created and painted a large wooden butterfly which was installed at the bank's base. The butterfly bank is next to an existing bug hotel, food-growing beds and heritage fruit trees.
The Green Patch Community Gardens are a well-established and popular space for locals to come and visit each week. The site is used to connect people with nature, and to teach and train. The butterfly bank is an important addition for butterflies and other biodiversity, and as an educational tool. It is hoped that once the flowers appear, the bank will become an admired focus and useful teaching / learning tool, alongside our other environmentally sustainable green projects across the site. The butterfly bank will inspire others to create their own butterfly spaces in their own gardens and common grounds.
If you are interested in working in your local urban area to create new habitats for butterflies and moths you can check out our free advice pages and resources-https://butterfly-conservation.org/our-work/reports-and-factsheets/urban-habitat-resources
To find out more about this site visit https://www.groundwork.org.uk/projects/the-green-patch/
