Welcoming to wildlife

10:39am Wednesday 11th June 2008

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A CONSERVATION area on the outskirts of York is to be upgraded to make it more welcoming for wildlife.

The Environment Agency is to begin work on Rawcliffe Meadows. The area is a rare floodplain meadow, a habitat that has declined by more than 95 per cent in England and Wales since the Second World War, mainly due to intensive farming methods.

The agency will remove half a hectare of nettles at the site before adding a hay cover that should help return the meadow to a more natural state and attract wildlife.

Sue Penn, biodiversity officer, said: "This form of habitat is a fabulous environmental resource and it's great for York to have such a rare green space within walking distance of the city centre."

Rawcliffe is home to the rare Tansy Beetle, as well as hundreds of other insects, birds and animals.

Almost all of Rawcliffe Meadows, near Rawcliffe Park&Ride, is open to the public and City of York Council recently completed a new cycle track on behalf of the Environment Agency, along the top of the flood bank.

Management of the site is co-ordinated by volunteers from the Friends of Rawcliffe Meadows.

Eroded banks along the River Ouse will also be repaired and reinforced, using larch poles grown on the Duncombe Park estate at Helmsley.

Open University academics are visiting the site this week to carry out a botanical survey as part of the national Floodplain Meadows Partnership, which is supporting the management and restoration of the habitat.

The Open University research will become part of longer-term monitoring to add to knowledge about plants' responses to environmental change.