Residents plant their own wildflower patch in East Linton

The workshop was part of CAEL’s Wildlife Network project, launched this spring.

CAEL is working towards a lower-carbon, resilient community, with local nature flourishing, and is dedicated to educating residents about East Lothian landscapes.

Jo Gibb,a steering group member, said: “As well as a climate crisis, we are in the middle of a global biodiversity crisis and as a response to this, the Wildlife Network aims to create corridors of wildlife-friendly gardens, where spaces in gardens are dedicated to creating habitats for wildlife through wild areas, water features, wildflower patches, bug hotels and many other options.

“The idea was inspired by the Felixstowe Community Nature Reserve Little Green Space and a number of other communities in the UK have since followed similar models.

“As part of the Wildlife Network, open garden days have been organised for people to visit and learn from; rowan and elder trees provided for those interested (kindly donated by Caledonian Horticulture); a demonstration border at East Linton park established (with thanks to East Lothian Council for providing their support and NatureScot for providing funding to help with message boards); and workshops on different themes organised.”

At the Wildlife Network’s Wildflower Workshop, local residents came together to learn about how to establish and manage a wildflower area dedicated to providing biodiverse habitats for wildlife.

Sally Gouldstone, from skincare company Seilich, ran the workshop, which saw participants sowing a wildflower area in East Linton War Memorial Park.

Attendees were also provided with native seeds to take home and sow in their own gardens, with the idea that multiple wildflower patches would be established in the East Linton area.

Recently, seeds and a scythe to help manage wildflower areas were purchased through funding provided by NatureScot.

The scythe will be made available for the local community to use from the East Linton Tool Library.