Nature Projects

The Wards Wildlife Site

The Wards wetland in Elgin is a valuable space for people to enjoy nature, and for wildlife to thrive.

Located south of the railway line and adjacent to Greenwards Primary School and Elgin High School, the area has been designated as a non-statutory wildlife site by Moray Council and Scottish Wildlife Trust. It is an important habitat, home to a colony of Northern Marsh Orchid and wetland birds including Snipe and Reed Bunting.

The area was historically a peat bog but then drained through a network of straight ditches so it could be used for grazing for many years. Water would naturally meander and spread out across the lower parts, so as a man-altered landscape the wetland needs active management to keep it in a healthy condition. The peaty soil stores carbon, so keeping it wet helps to address climate change.

In 2002 a management plan was drawn up, followed by the installation of a new pond and dipping platform and circular access path, leaving the centre of the site largely undisturbed for wildlife. A new management plan was created in 2022 to inform renewed management of the site using available grant funding, which has focused on restoring and expanding small areas of open water and planting native species to improve biodiversity. Restoration work is being done sensitively, minimising disturbance to wildlife and people. It will help to provide unique homes for plants, animals and insects.

Millbuies woodland and loch

Just south of Elgin in the village of Fogwatt, Millbuies loch is surrounded by rich and diverse woodland. It is important local community space, with woodland walks and a picnic area. Millbuies is also a haven for a wide range of wildlife; red squirrels, badgers, otters and ospreys are just some of the iconic species that live in and visit the site.  

The reservoir was formed in the early 20th century to create a fishing loch. The woodland is a mixed, with some commercially planted areas and many specimen trees for interest. Using grant funding, a new plan for managing the woodlands has been developed. This will see a renewed focus on protecting and enhancing biodiversity alongside making improvements for public access as funding becomes available.

Some limited clear felling will be undertaken, but will be carefully planned to minimise disturbance to wildlife and people. Replanting will focus on a mix of native trees to support biodiversity and help the woodland to adapt to a changing climate. The long term plan is for the whole woodland to be managed under a low impact system which avoids clear felling and encourages natural regeneration as much as possible.

Elgin Oakwood

This area of woodland, wrapping around the west of Elgin from the A96 north to Spynie Wood, includes part of the Quarrywood Site of Special Scientific Interest. It was designated as one of the best examples of oak woodland in Moray, with high biodiversity value and easy access from the town for recreation. 

The valuable oak habitat is under pressure from invasive non-native trees that are self seeding there. Non-native conifers and beech grow fast and dominate, preventing other plant species from growing underneath them which leads to a less diverse woodland over time. Grant funding has been used to remove younger invasive trees from the woodland to give the oak, Scot's pine and other native trees that live happily alongside one another a chance to grow, and there are plans to selectively thin the mature trees in future. 

Acorns collected from within the woodland that were nurtured and planted out by volunteers have successfully outgrown their protective tubes. These are now being removed by volunteers and school groups, alongside other conservation tasks to care for the woodland. 

Living Lawns

The Open Spaces team is working to increase biodiversity by introducing ‘Living Lawn’ areas at locations nominated by Community Councils.

The Living Lawns concept is based on a trial carried out recently at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.  A past trend in society towards perfectly green and uniform lawns has resulted in a few grass species dominating and the low-growing flowers (often referred to as weeds!) being removed. An immaculate close cut lawn provides very little resources for bees, flies, moths and butterflies, wasps and beetles which rely on a rich diet of pollen and nectar, and there is little structure for insects and other invertebrate to shelter too.

The approach is an alternative to a regular amenity grassland area allowing the grass to grow longer between cuts to promote a diversity of flowers and encourage and allow low growing flowering plants such as, clovers, yarrow, daisy, dandelion, plantains and speedwells to thrive – plants we might often consider as weeds but pollinators will love.

The location of the trial at Cooper Park can be found here.

Grass cutting will still continue in these areas but will take place less frequently. Depending on conditions this will be approximately every 4 – 6 weeks with the grass cutting height raised to approximately 150mm. The perimeter of the site and path edges will continue to receive regular grass cutting. This approach will allow these different flowers to thrive and provide pollen and nectar resources.

For further information on this topic you can follow this link to view a video clip which provides some background.

The locations with altered mowing patterns in 2023 included Cooper Park, Sandy Road and Glenmoray Drive in Elgin.

Wildflower Plantings

Following consultation with local communities to help identify suitable locations for new wildflower areas,  26 planting sites were introduced between 2020 and 2023, with more being gradually added where opportunities arise. Some of the these projects are community led or supported and others led direct by the Council.

As we face many environmental challenges in the world today there is a need for us to broaden our approach to the way we manage our diverse network of open spaces, including parks, green spaces, verges and cemeteries. The introduction of more wildflowers in our landscape helps to improve the biodiversity of our open spaces, support our health and wellbeing as we use and enjoy outdoor spaces more and more, and helps wildlife including pollinators such as bees, butterflies, moths and hoverflies which have declined in numbers in recent decades.

Since the Council no longer maintains the traditionally more expensive landscape features in our open spaces, e.g. annual bedding displays or verges on dual carriageways, it’s not anticipated that any savings in maintenance costs will be made through this initiative. Indeed, it’s likely that sites nominated for consideration, including open spaces in parks, housing areas and cemeteries, will result in a modest increase in costs. External funding has supported the extra maintenance costs and enabled the purchase of specialist machinery.

Communities across Moray provide an important role in creating better local environment and places and many parts of our open spaces have been created, or are already cared for, by communities. We welcome community participation in developing these new landscape features. Our Community Support team is inviting Community Councils and other community groups and networks to consider their local environments and identify and nominate potential locations for consideration. If you are interested do contact your local community council to get involved.

If you would like to know more, or have ideas for any of these projects please contact climatechange@moray.gov.uk

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