A wildflower bank in Wish Park, part of a network of banks significantly increasing the diversity of plants and wildlife in the city, is being renovated.
There's also a brand-new wildflower in Vale Park, Portslade which will create another biodiversity hotspot in the city’s parks.
This month volunteers from the Friends of Wish Park, the Wildflower Guardians and Changing Chalk youth rangers planted 800 wildflowers on the bank in Wish Park. More than 600 flowers have been planted in Vale Park.
The plants are all native wildflowers, grown locally from seed by the Wildflower Conservation Society. They include wild thyme, kidney vetch, wild carrot, field scabious, ladies bedstraw, birds foot trefoil, wild marjoram, teasel and bladder campion.
Native wildflowers support a variety of pollinators, birds and other wildlife.
The latest survey of Brighton & Hove’s wildflower bank network found a staggering 554 species of invertebrates, including more than 50 types of bee and 191 species of plants.
Find out more about the Wildflower Conservation Society and how to become a wildflower guardian.
Bee and butterfly banks recreate local downland habitats in miniature, in parks and green spaces across the city. They are valuable nectar-rich havens, attracting pollinating insects such as bees, butterflies, moths, hoverflies and beetles.
The project is supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund with money raised by National Lottery players.
Councillor Tim Rowkins, Cabinet member for Net Zero and Environment, said: “This is a fantastic project, which is having a very significant impact. It shows how beneficial creating wildflower-rich areas in an urban environment can be for our struggling pollinators, as well as bringing pocket-sized downland habitats into the city for residents to explore and enjoy close to home.
“This is part of the Changing Chalk project which is helping to restore the globally rare chalk grassland of the South Downs – in decline for a century and home to many special and endangered species.”
The Living Coast UNESCO Biosphere is carrying out the work to help return the bee and butterfly bank in Wish Park, also known as Aldrington Recreation Ground, to its full potential. The Friends of Wish Park successfully applied for a Changing Chalk community grant to replant the bank and install a new sign.
The Living Coast is expanding and improving the important network of bee and butterfly banks across Brighton & Hove through the Greening the Cities project.
The banks may look a little bare after planting as it takes time for the plants to re-establish.
The South Downs are a magical place for wildlife. Old chalk grassland is a globally rare habitat, home to many wildflowers and pollinating insects. Over the last 100 years, this incredibly biodiverse habitat has been declining, leaving a fragmented network which threatens the species that live there.
Find out about the project and get involved in helping maintain your local wildflower bank.
Share your ideas, concerns and ambitions for nature in Sussex and help shape the Local Nature Recovery Strategy for East Sussex and Brighton & Hove.
Take part in the consultation. Share your views by 26 November.
The Living Coast is a designated UNESCO Biosphere Region, working in partnership from Worthing to Seaford in Sussex, connecting people and nature from the South Downs to the sea.
Greening the Cities is part of Changing Chalk, a partnership of organisations working together for the future of the South Downs. Through this project, we are reversing the decline of the fragile chalk grassland and bringing local communities closer to the nationally significant landscape on their doorstep.
Led by the National Trust, the partnership connects nature, people and heritage. It is restoring lost habitats, bringing histories to life, and offering new experiences in the outdoors.
The four-year project is supported by a £2.23 million grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund and made possible thanks to National Lottery players. The project is also supported by players of People's Postcode Lottery and The Linbury Trust.
Find out more about The Changing Chalk Partnership.
The National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) is dedicated to supporting projects that connect people and communities to heritage, as set out in its strategic plan.
Heritage can be anything from the past that people value and want to pass on to future generations.
Over the next 10 years, the NLHF aims to invest £3.6billion raised for good causes by National Lottery players to make a decisive difference for people, places and communities.
Thumbnail photograph courtesy of Brighton & Hove City Council rangers.