Urban Green Shoots

As the project draws to a close, with SPF funding coming to an end in March 2025, we have commissioned an external impartial evaluation to monitor and record the success and learning from the project.

Exeter Innovation are undertaking this evaluation on behalf of the Council, and have prepared a public survey to gather responses.

If you have a UGS site in your locality, please participate in the survey at: Urban Green Shoots: public survey

The survey will be open until 21st February 2025.

Urban Green Shoots has demonstrated how quickly Cornwall Council, in partnership with Cormac have responded to a funding opportunity to make widespread and long-lasting improvements for nature and people across across its environment estate. Since being awarded funding in late 2023, the project has implemented whole site schemes at 10 public open spaces and supported rewilding on urban verges across Camborne, Redruth and Liskeard.

Last week (20th Jan 2025) work commenced on the final site, at Barrowfields, Newquay, with the project completion date of March 2025 now firmly in sight.

The Barrowfields scheme responds to the significance of the location as a site of scheduled prehistoric funerary monuments dating from the Late Neolithic period to the Late Bronze Age, known as bowl barrows. These features, which are a series of earth mounds are untouched by the planting and access improvements that will be delivered by Urban Green Shoots, and the project is also funding a new information board to help raise awareness about these ancient features that line the Newquay clifftops.

The enhancements will improve access to and biodiversity/shelter at the viewpoint over Tolcarne beach, through improvements to the path and steps alongside a nature-rich Cornish hedge and wildflower meadow patches as well as installing lengths of colourful and scented plant beds along the walkway leading out to Bolowthas Corner.

The scheme is expected to complete site works by the end of February 2025.

Urban Green Shoots is working to enhance biodiversity and community engagement at 12 open spaces across Cornwall by March 2025.

Penzance cemetery is one of the sites benefiting from the Shared Prosperity funding enabling the project, with plans for the site including new tranquil seating areas, improved management of existing planting for habitat value, swathes of colourful bulb planting, and improvements to surfacing to provide more equal access where possible.

On 13th, 17th and 18th of September groups of pupils from Penpol Primary and Nancealverne School benefited from the project, attending the site to learn about its special place in the local community as well as find out more about how it supports wildlife within the urban environment.

Hosted by Urban Green Shoots, specialists from Budding Nature led sessions encouraging the children to explore how plants, insects and larger animals interact through the food chain as well as what the site means to them and their communities.

Located between residential areas, local facilities and the town centre, the cemetery is used as a cut through by all age groups, as well as those visiting the many hundreds of graves and memorials there. Seeing the school groups taking time to find out more about the site, one local resident remarked ‘lovely to see and hear children here, happy and exploring, bringing life to the place. Great that they are learning about nature and being respectful of their environment’.

Urban Green Shoots is running until March 2025 and keen to invite volunteers from the community to get involved as part of the long-term legacy to improve sense of place and increase links between Cormac, the Council and local residents in care for our open spaces. If you would like to find out more, please contact volunteers@cormacltd.co.uk

To see the plans for the site, please navigate to the documents bar of this page and open PZ Cemetery General Arrangement

Following consultation with the community, including direct feedback from schools and two on-site engagement events, a revived concept design has been produced, outlining the enhancements for nature and people that will be made this coming winter.

The scheme will include swathes of colourful bulbs, native shrub planting to provide habitat for pollinators and new seating as well as new natural landscape features to provide opportunities for informal play and adventure.

Works will be taking place on site from November 2024 onwards, with the construction of paths and other landscaping taking place first before planting, which will follow on.

The community are encouraged to get involved in the future care of this important green space, adding to its vibrancy by adding the human-connection through volunteering with the Green Gardening group that will be set up. To find out more about how to get involved, please contact volunteers@cormacltd.co.uk

To see the concept design for Ellis Park, please navigate to the documents bar of this website.

Urban Green Shoots is sharing information about how to grow Yellow rattle Rhinanthus minor, an important plant to help establish and maintain wildflowers in grassland meadows.

Yellow Rattle helps keep more dominant grasses in check by attaching to and drawing nutrients from their root systems, which in turn gives less pioneering wildflowers more opportunity to gain a foothold and thrive.

It has been heralded by the plant conservation organisation Plantlife as 'the meadow maker' or 'natures lawnmower', and they also suggest that it is the single most important to establish when creating a wildflower meadow: Plantlife Meadows | Yellow rattle

There is some excellent information about how to source, sow and maintain Yellow Rattle provided at: https://meadows.plantlife.org.uk/making-meadows/yellow-rattle/

Cornwall Council has been collecting yellow rattle seeds from the species rich wildflower meadow at Tehidy Country Park for several years, and been introducing this to selected public green spaces and urban verges in order to help reduce the competition by grasses and help allow wildflowers to flourish. This has been a great success, benefitting from the local seed's suitability to the Cornish climate, with most sites seeing good rates of establishment and regrowth in subsequent years. In line with best practice for yellow rattle meadows, these locations are then managed on a reduced mowing cycle, whereby they are cut after the seed has fallen in late summer, with the cuttings removed so that nutrients from the grass off-take aren't returned to the soil, a practice that also helps favour wildflowers by reducing nutrient availability for rapid growing grasses.

To get a copy of an information sheet about sourcing, sowing and maintaining yellow rattle, please visit the documents bar of this Let's talk page.

Gwavas has seen a remarkable transformation since the project began last December, and the addition of footpaths, play equipment and planting beds has ensured that the Park becomes a wonderful space for families and all members of the community.

One of the biggest successes of the project has been the pollinator planting at the Gwavas play area, helping to reverse insect decline in Cornwall. The incredibly rare ‘Perkins mining bee’, which is able to thrive on the blue sea holly planted earlier in the year were spotted at a recent community event!

The planting beds were added this spring with the help of the Newlyn Primary and Alverton Primary Schools, as well as community gardeners from Newlyn Community Flora Group.

Image credit: Dr Leo Will Hawkes, Insect migration researcher

Join Urban Green Shoots for ‘Cornish Hedgerow Food Chains’ and exploring a ‘Wildlife Crime Scene’ with Budding Nature!

Wednesday 14th August, Sungirt Valley, Liskeard

10am – 3:00pm Meet at Lower Sungirt Carpark

There will be two sessions over the course of the day, feel free to stay for both or just one.

Please bring a packed lunch. Free hot drinks provided. Please dress in suitable clothing for the weather!

Please get in contact to book your space.

Contact: Kelly, Cormac’s Urban Ranger Email:volunteers@cormacltd.co.uk

Mobile: 07736 624543 Web: www.cornwall.gov.uk/parks

Join Urban Green Shoots for a children’s activity day, including ‘Bug Hotel Building’ and exploring a ‘Wildlife Crime Scene’ with Budding Nature!

Thursday 8th August, Thanckes Park, Torpoint

10am – 3:00pm Meet at Benodet Park, The Lawn, Torpoint PL11 2QX

There will be two sessions over the course of the day, feel free to stay for both or just one.

Please bring a packed lunch. Free hot drinks provided. Please dress in suitable clothing for the weather!

Please get in touch to book your space by contacting Kelly, Cormac's Urban ranger on:

volunteers@cormacltd.co.uk

or mobile: 07736 624543