Kitchen Lane Plantation Enhancement and Grassland Creation

Close up of foxglove

Credit: Philip Precey

Enouraging New Species to Kitchen Lane

Making hay at Kitchen Lane

Credit: @WTBBC

Kitchen Lane Open Space lies in the Ashmore Park area of Wolverhampton. The grassland and birch-dominated plantation woodland lies on the site of a capped landfill.

As part of the Nature Improvement Area (NIA) priorities we enhanced plantations and created grasslands to encourage new species to the area

Senior Conservation Officer Tom making hay

Credit: @WTBBC

Over 3.5 acres of woodland were thinned and stumps were treated to prevent regrowth. A field-layer of Bluebell, Red Campion, Primrose and Foxglove - taken from the NIA's ‘Growing Local Flora’ project - was sown into the space.

The following summer, 1.5 acres of species-poor amenity grassland was enhanced with the creation of new meadowland by strewing arisings, hand harvested by volunteers, from an adjoining area of species-rich grassland.