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Wee Projects
Some of our projects are a bit smaller but are great examples of how you don't need a lot of space to make a difference to the pollinators, wildlife and birds in your area.
This page is full of our activities out with the main areas that Riverside Naturally look after and with a range of partners that have supported, helped and inspired.
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Beautiful Bench
Last year we applied to Magic Little Grants for money that would allow us to improve our Community Orchard with a picnic bench.
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It is our aim to give people an opportunity to spend time being in the heart of our community orchard and our species rich grassland which we pride on being showcase for biodiversity and environmentally positive gardening.
We want to encourage the space to be used and enjoyed as a small community gathering place - with school groups, older people and visitors having a place to rest and engage with each other.
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We were delighted to be notified of our successful application and in March '24 we installed our wonderful bench. The weather didn't match our excitement but our volunteers carried on through the hail and we are very pleased with our new bench.
Grass Cutting
In our green spaces we avoid cutting the grass, allowing the varied grassland species to thrive and diversify. Where this is not possible we encourage people to go longer between mows as this
There are many benefits to leaving the grass longer during the summer and we hope that a slight shift in perspective will help in understanding that long lawns are not messy and unkempt, but a haven for wild life and essential to combatting climate change. You can find out about our grassland and our journey to get there here.
Long grass encourages wild flowers to grow.
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The soil in Riverside is very fertile and this is a problem for many wildflower species who like less nutritious soil to thrive. Allowing the grass to grow longer decreases the fertility of the soil and allow more species to thrive.
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In addition, keeping the grass long allows other more scarce flowers, such as orchids, to flourish. A lovely purple orchid was spotted in our orchard this year.
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Having a varied food source in your grassy areas encourages a range of pollinators to visit - including butterflies, bees and birds.
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Long grass improves the habitat for many mini-beasts
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Longer grass is a perfect shelter and breeding place for many invertebrates that thrive in the darker and damper areas of our gardens.
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Mini beasts such as spiders, the meadow brown butterflies, and moth caterpillars, use the longer parts of the grass to spin webs, lay eggs and roost in.
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These creatures are all vital for a thriving ecosystem and provide and essential food source for many other creatures, including birds and hedgehogs.
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Long grass and wildflowers are a great food source for birds, bees and butterflies
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Having a variety of grasses and wildflowers give a food source to lots of creatures throughout the year, and the seeds at the end of the season are
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Long grass is a great home for amphibians
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Amphibians need shelter on land and long grass provides and ideal place for them to hide and the min-beast are a perfect food source.
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Particularly in dry spells, long grass stops the desiccation of the smaller amphibians,
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Less grass cutting also:
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saves money on grass cutting
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saves our natural resources (fuel)
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saves our time - which can be spent on other activities supporting the environment
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School Planters
Riverside Naturally has had great pleasure working with Riverside Primary School to revitalise the four big planters situated in the school playground.
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We started by clearing the planters of existing plants and weeds - this gave us a change to enrich the soil by adding more compost and bark. The soil had become compacted over time- so it was very satisfying to clear and it made it a lot easier to plant up with the children.
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Each box has a loose theme - sensory planter, food planter, bloom box (pollinator friendly) and friendship planter - which should soon have sunflowers blooming.
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We had great fun with some of the P4's planting up the boxes - the children were fantastic and did a wonderful job. You can see how they got on here.
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