The idea for the meadow came from suggestions by local people in a Participatory Budgeting project run by our Community Greenspace team in 2022.

Residents were invited to suggest projects that would improve, enhance, restore or increase wildlife habitats and greenspaces to help our local environments become more resilient to climate change, as well as creating more sustainable areas for local people to enjoy.

The Newarthill Wood idea is one of the five winning projects voted by the public. A wildflower meadow has been planted, and Willow, Alder and Birch trees have been planted on site. Flag Iris, Water Forget-me-not and Purple Loosestrife have also been added to the pond.

Pupils from Newarthill Primary School joined staff to plant seeds and visit the pond to learn about the wildlife and biodiversity.

“The children were delighted to plant wildflowers seeds, and are looking forward to see them bloom later in the summer,” said Head Teacher Amanda Bradley. “They were also really interested to see and learn about all the wildlife that lives in the pond.”

“Wildflowers provide a beautiful display during summer when they’re in full bloom, but they have an important role for the local biodiversity in autumn and winter when the seeds provide food for birds and insects,” said Vicky Abernethy, the council’s Greenspace and Country Parks Manager.

“They also provide nectar for bees and butterflies, the leaves are tasty food for caterpillars, the foliage is an ideal habitat for insects and, importantly, they absorb carbon dioxide so help reduce our carbon footprint.”

Participatory budgeting was introduced under the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act to encourage more community participation and to direct resources to communities where it is most needed allowing communities to have a say in how public money is spent.

The Community Greenspace Participatory Budgeting project was funded by NatureScot’s Nature Recovery.