This year I have been kept on for an extra 2 months at work. This is great for me but it’s not because they think I’m awesome and they love me (although they should!). They have kept me and a couple of other guys on for, what I believe, is a new project they have in the pipe. Now I’m not sure if I am actively working on the project or if I have been kept on to pick up the slack from others that will be working on it.
From what we have been told the project is to be “renativising” (Is that even an actual word?) one (maybe a couple?) of their parks. Very basically they are tearing out many of the plants and trees and replacing them with native specimens only. Apparently they have a grant from somewhere to pay for this.
I really don’t think this is going to happen all at once, that would be disastrous for the local wildlife! I hope it will be an ongoing endeavour, this year they will get so much done and then next year they will do a bit more and so on till the job is done or the grant runs out.
I’m not even sure which park they are wanting to work on. There are a few they could be on about. It’s either all hush-hush or there is an amazing lack of communication… Seeing as how its the council I work for I’m betting the latter.
We were told there is a large leylandii hedge that needs to go as well as a number of invasive Rhododendron colonies. But then they are all over the place up here in the north so no clues there.
At the yard I work out of we took delivery of a bunch of small Holly shrubs, some Dogwood (Cornus sanguinea), Beech, Hawthorn and a fair few other plants I didn’t recognise, so I guess they are going in. I didn’t see any trees, but they may simply be yet to arrive.
I’d love to get a proper list of what is going in but seeing as this is the council I really doubt I will. It’s hard enough getting a list of bedding plants for when we put the displays in (It’s bloody hard to work out what plants are going where when you have no idea what plants you should be expecting!)
*sigh* Councils! B-)
I know a few people may not like this, but I think doing this kind of work is the right thing to do. Habitat for our native wildlife is getting harder to come by and while non-native plants may look amazing, and they truly do, they are not best suited to our climate or wildlife or maybe that would be better put the other way around, our wildlife isn’t suited to them. We need to do all we can to keep our ecology healthy and the best way to do that is to give them what they need. Native plants!
So well done to the council for taking this project on.
If I do get in on this project then I will try to take a few pics and maybe make a couple of posts about it.
Kal's Gardening 
Non-native plants shouldn’t even be planted in some cases as they are very invasive and are taking over my country.
Some non-native plants may well be neutral to the local ecology but most are not.
We have a couple of really bad errors of judgement that are costing us at the moment in this country. Japanese knotweed, Giant (Russian) hogweed and something that is clogging waterways called Australian Swamp Stonecrop.
Japanese knotweed is our biggest problem though. I have dug so much of that stuff out of the ground is not even funny. >.>
WE have Hogweed is here too.. a scary plant making it’s way to my state! I actually look for it now when out in nature. I thought I saw some upstate. WE have other weird invasive plants I don’t know the name of.. Now if we talk about invasive animals and fish in America, that’s another scary thought!
I don’t know about wildlife so much. I know there is something in the waters here that is causing a problem. Signal crayfish or something? I’m not sure. But fishermen are not happy!
Giant hogweed can be dealt with quite easily if you are careful and use protection. At work we actively cut any flower heads before they set seed. The blistering comes from the sap in the stems mainly and there is no need for pesticides.
We have giant rats and boa constrictors and giant lizards in Florida to name a few. Then those jumping carp in our lakes and Dog Head fish in our streams. Plus the African Bees are making their way North. Not to forget the Starlings brought from England, and numerous insects from Japan etc.
There are people that think globalising is a good thing.
*fake rage!*
Great news and nice to see native plants being used. Good luck!
Sounds like your council is very forward thinking. Yes, rhododendrons do have pretty flowers but they can keep a few at the Lost Gardens of Heligan for posterity. We do have lots of beautiful plants of our own (which are better for wildlife and the ecology).
I really think it’s about trying to look good after a long time of screwing things up.
Plus they aren’t paying for any of this so… B-)
Oh!