Young learners from Barnhill Primary School and others from the MSIP community will take part in a seed sowing event, that will create a series of meadow areas on the Innovation Parc that will bloom throughout the summer months.
This is part of a wider Eden Project National Wildflower Centre initiative to bring colour and biodiversity to the city with the planting of a series of wildflower meadows covering 14 hectares of land across Dundee.
Funded by the Alexander Moncur Trust, who are celebrating their 75th anniversary, the project directly addresses the decline of natural wildflower meadows that support bees and other pollinating insects. Species sown today will flower in late summer and will include native local provenance species such as corn chamomile, poppy, oxeye daisy and red campion.
Ten further sites have been identified by Dundee City Council, as part of the City’s biodiversity grasslands initiative, and will be developed and maintained through the Nature Restoration Fund, with Eden Project supporting the training and narrative building.
The planting programme is part of Eden’s commitment to the city ahead of the opening of Eden Project Dundee in 2025 and delivers on MSIP’s ambition to maintain a connection to the local community as well as raise awareness of climate action.
This project follows on from the previously announced strategic partnership between Eden Project and MSIP.
Caishlan Sweeney, Project Engagement Manager, Eden Project said: “We’re delighted to be working with MSIP to introduce these important wildlife habitats as part of our continued work in Dundee., Sowing wildflowers is a fantastic way to introduce children and adults to the diversity of nature and begin to build a new connection to it.”
Sarah Petrie, Innovation Director, MSIP said: “The creation of a wildflower meadow will add to the variety of habitats available on the Innovation Parc for wildlife to thrive.
“We want to provide a rich and varied working environment for people to enjoy at MSIP, and we believe that the wildflower meadow will add to that, stimulating new innovations as a result.
“It’s great to be able to include local young learners and our MSIP community in the building of this, something that they can all hopefully benefit from in the years to come.”
