Wildlife conservation in Glasgow's parks

2 Pages·1998·1.1 MB·

by  Carol Aitken

GLASGOW NATURALIST Vo. 23 Part 3 pp 3 - 4 (1998)
WILDLIFE CONSERVATION IN GLASGOW’S PARKS
CAROL AITKEN
Parks and Recreation Department, Glasgow City Council,
37 High Street, Glasgow G1 1LX
Some of Glasgow’s finest parks were originally private grasses, and in the autumn the seedheads are food for small
estates and were acquired by, or gifted to, the old Glasgow birds.
Corporation in the 1800s and early 1900s. There are formal
flowerbeds,shrubberies,rockeriesandrecreationareasforten- Wetland creation is also a vital part of the Conservation
nis, bowling and other pursuits. Often there are also park work taking place in the parks. The loss of wetland areas
ponds, either 'duck ponds’ or more usually steep-sided, con- throughout Britain isacontinuingtrendduetodraining, pollu-
crete boating ponds which until recently were used for both tion, infilling and development ofland for housing and retail
rowing boats and for model yachts. The boating has now use. This loss ofponds and associated wetlands must, at least
stopped in most parks but model yachting is still popular. In partly, be responsible forthe decline ofournative amphibians
the summermonths ninety percent ofGlasgow’s residents use which echoes aworldwide trendofamphibian decline. Ponds
their local park for all sorts ofactivities ranging fromjogging and wetlands at their best are an extremely rich ecosystem of
andgolfthroughtothemoregentlechoiceofwalkingthedog. invertebrates, amphibians, birds and otheranimals, alongwith
Why then is there a need for a Conservation Section working complex communities of wetland plants. One of our most
forthe CityCouncil in the city’s parks and otheropen spaces? attractive mammals, the WaterVole, which lives on the banks
ofslow-flowing rivers has been greatly affected by dredging,
The Conservation Section aims to protect the wildlife that removal ofriversidevegetation and othercurrent management
already inhabits our city and to encourage more wildlife by practices for ‘river improvements’ leading to a drastic reduc-
enhancing habitats and where possible creating new ones. tion in numbers throughout Britain.
Glasgow’s parks and open spaces, owned and managed by
Glasgow City Council, provide vital pockets of green in Glasgow’s Victorian boating and duck ponds have great
amongst the urban sprawl. Wildlife corridors such as rivers, potential for development as more natural waterbodies in
bums, disused railway lines and even roadside verges link appropriate park settings. In Springburn Park, for example,
these pockets and so allow the movement of animals and one ofthe ponds has been enlarged so that the water level lies
plants throughout the city. The presence ofwild animals and above the concrete edge, on soft mud which encourages wild-
plants in our midst brings pleasure to all sorts ofpeople and fowl to use it. The new edges ofthe pond have been planted
increases theirenjoyment oftheir local park environment. with a variety of native wetland plants. The naturalized
appearance ofthe pond benefits wildlife and importantly also
A flowering meadow in summer can be a riot ofcolour adds a new dimension of interest to any walk in the park.
with the yellow ofCat’s Earand Meadow Buttercup, the pink Responses from members of the public have been very
ofRagged Robin, the mauve ofDevil’s-bit Scabious and the favourable. At Hogganfield Parkanewareaofopenwaterhas
pure white of Sneezewort. The flowers attract butterflies recently been dug in the marshy grassland in the east ofthe
which add to the rainbow effect, and bees and other insects park toprovideanadditional habitat forwildfowl and abreed-
which also feed in the meadow. The Conservation Section is inghabitat forthe Common Frog which is known to hibernate
involved increatingandenhancingwildflowermeadows inthe in thegrassland. AtRobroyston Parktwoclumpsoftreeshave
parks. In Queen’s Park and other suitable parks, areas of been removed and five new shallow ponds dug in theirplace,
grassland have simply been left long to allow the grasses and to recreate an original wetland area which was drying out due
otherflowering plants to flowerand set seed. At Hogganfield to the treeplanting. In its first year the new wetland area has
Park school children have planted Bluebells and Primroses in attracted Canada Geese, Mallard, Little Grebe, Coot and
the woodland, in conjunction with the Kelvin Valley Lapwing. Glasgow is lucky in having at least two park sites
Countryside Project. Wildflower seedlings have also been where Water Voles live and hopefully with sensitive manage-
planted in the grasslands at Hogganfield Park in two areas in ment oftheir wetland habitat it will be possible to maintain
Cranhill Park. In other areas meadows are created from theirpopulations andperhaps, through developingand linking
scratch by preparing a piece ofground and seeding it with a wildlife areas, even increase theirnumbers.
wildflowerseed mix, forexample at Robroyston Parkwhere a
large area in the north ofthe park has been seeded, and again One ofthe Conservation Section’s most important tasks is
atCranhill Park where an annual meadowmixofCorn Poppy, tomonitortheanimal andplantspeciespresentinthedifferent
Cornflower, Corncockle and Corn Marigold planted by local parks and open spaces in the city. This includes monitoring
children (in conjunction with the Parks Development Officer Sites ofImportance forNature Conservation (S1NC for short)
and the Kelvin Valley Project) produced an amazing show of which are areas ofland anywhere within the city boundaries
colour last year and was featured in local newspaper reports. whichhavebeenidentifiedasbeingofconservationinterestby
Theresultsnotonlycreatehabitatforinsectsbutalso forsmall Glasgow City Council. Some ofthe sites belong to the City
mammals liketheFieldVolewhich formsrunsandnests in the Council and some ofthem are in private ownership. By mon-
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itoring the parks and SINCs the number and diversity of
species on each site canbe recorded and any changes quickly
detected. Conservation management plans can thus take into
consideration any species ofparticular note andprotect them.
WorkinginConservationinanurbansettingbringsitsown
unique problems. People-pressure on well-used sites can
cause disturbance to wildlife and damage to habitats, unfortu-
nately degrading the very nature ofthe area to which people
areattracted. Thesolutioncanoftenbefoundbyinvolvingthe
area’suser-groupsinthecareofthesite. Partiesofschoolchil-
dren and community groups help in ‘clean-ups’, getting ridof
the rubbish in their local patch and planting trees and wild-
flowers as partofactivities arranged in conjunction with vari-
ous conservation bodies, including those funded orpart-fund-
ed by Glasgow City Council. The Conservation Section pro-
motes environmental education through leaflets and through
liaison withothers suchasthe Parks DevelopmentOfficerand
the River Valleys Projects which undertake a great deal of
practical conservation work with different groups ofpeople.
School pupils outplantingyoung trees often feel quiteprotec-
tive of‘their’trees and continue to visitthem andwatch them
grow. Ifthisappreciationoflivingthingscanbeexpandedand
prolongedintoalife long interestthenthe futurewillbebright
forGlasgow’s wildlife.
Thehighlypublicised Earth Summitheld in RiodeJaneiro
in June 1992 has made the public very aware of ‘The
Environment’ and 'Green Issues’ which hopefully will
increase public concern over the decline of habitats and
species. The British Government signed the ‘Convention on
Biological Diversity’atthesummitandsubsequentlyproduced
theUKBiodiversityActionPlan which hasasitsgoal ‘tocon-
UK
serve and enhance biological diversity within the and to
contribute to the conservation ofglobal biodiversity through
allappropriatemechanisms’. GlasgowCityCouncil hassetup
its own BiodiversityActionPlan working group to look at the
status ofanimal and plant species within the City boundaries.
The varied work ofthe Conservation Section within the City
Council canthus contribute in somesmall waytonational and
international objectives for nature conservation, whilst at a
local level help to ensure that the sight ofFoxes, Kingfishers
and Kestrels in the city remains a common one.
Editor’s note
CarolAitkenisAssistantConservationOfficerintheParksand
Recreation Department. The value ofparks to wildlife is fur-
therdemonstratedinthisissuebythe BotanicGardenswildlife
surveyreports.
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