Situated on the edge of Castle Vale estate in Birmingham was an area of little-used and biodiversity-poor open space. Working with local charity The Community Environmental Trust and The University of Wolverhampton, NIA staff designed and delivered a project to create two new species-rich meadows.
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
Love Your River Stour will be focused in Dudley and Wolverhampton and will help to transform the River Stour and the green spaces along its banks into beautiful and wildlife-rich sources of pride for the communities of the Black Country.
Peascroft Wood was planted over a century ago by the Midland Reafforesting Association as part of their pioneering work to cover the scars of industrial dereliction. Their foresight has provided one of the few areas of woodland in the east of Wolverhampton.
The trees of Peascroft Wood grow on old mounds of coal spoil and the foundations of cottages which were demolished early in the 20th century. This complex topography has resulted in a woodland with a diverse and interesting structure.
The woodland canopy is made up of a mixture of broadleaved tree species including sycamore, ash, field maple and hazel. In late winter patches of snowdrops come into flower, followed in spring by species such as bluebell and primrose which were successfully introduced in the 1980s.