York Place Garden
 
There’s an exciting project right now to wild up a classic Clifton communal garden in our West Bristol area, and you can see it in action, both on the ground and online.
 
The garden is is on York Place and is separated from the street by railings, so you can see it as you pass. It’s open to the public. It belongs to Bristol University’s Manor Hall – a student hall of residence.
 
Until March 2019, the garden was part of a project by Buglife and Bristol City Council to increase the amount of pollinator habitat in Bristol. York Place residents, led by local conservationist and environmental adviser Dan Geerah, have now taken up the project for themselves.
 
Dan says:
 
"Our main aim with this garden is to provide habitat to insects on their journey around Bristol. By providing a diverse garden in Clifton, we can increase the number of insect pollinator species and their populations, and increase overall biodiversity. Not only insects benefit: we hope the garden will improve the aesthetics of York Place, encourage people to enjoy their local greenspaces, and raise awareness of insect pollinators.
 
"Within the garden, we are aiming to establish various habitat features including a wildflower meadow (with flowering species from spring to late summer, including birdsfoot trefoils, knapweed, lady’s bedstraw and yellow rattle), spring bulbs (with snowdrops, primrose and bluebells) and pollen/nectar-rich hedgerow.
 
"We have also left the margins uncut to allow tussocky grasses (such as cocksfoot) to grow. This will increase nesting opportunities for insects and small mammals and extend the available forage from spring to late summer. We have also built a hedgehog house, in the hope that if any of our spikey friends pass by, they choose to spend the winter here.
 
"If you want to keep up with what's happening in the York Place garden, please come and visit, or follow the hashtags #WilderClifton or #DanWilderClifton on Twitter or follow @cliftonclimateact on Instagram."