Preparing the grounds of St Mary's to bloom and buzz next spring

The grounds of St Mary's Heritage Centre have taken one step further to becoming a wildlife haven in urban Gateshead!

This year, for the first time in decades, the grass at St Mary's was given the freedom to grow long. As a result we saw the return of Small Skipper Butterflies, Cinnabar Moths, and Northern Marsh Orchids. This was the first step toward restoring the grassland into a thriving wildflower meadow.

Historically, the churchyard would have been rich with biodiversity, with mixed habitats of wildflowers, trees, and scrub, which would have been used as a resource by local people and the church. Over time this would have changed, as the concept of 'tidiness' became a cultural aspect in society, and unfortunately with this tidiness we lost many of our wild species in urban environments.

Now, St Mary's stands as a pocket of green in a highly urbanised area. With the Tyne Derwent Way Green Team, we're beginning to transform the ground into a place full of wildlife. A place for everyone to enjoy.

On Saturday, 12 Green Team volunteers raked and scarified the grassland at St Mary's, to create patches of bare earth, which they then seeded with native perennial wildflowers.

Over the next few years, the grassland will transform from short-cut amenity grass into a buzzing, colourful, native wildflower meadow.