main content Beckenham goes wild for flowers

A wildlife corridor is being established from Beckenham to West Wickham.

As part of this, on Friday and Saturday residents, businesses and local groups from around Beckenham came together to help with the fist step in 'Greening the Beck Corridor'. Between them over 2000 wildflowers were planted in three sections of the verges on Foxgrove Road, Beckenham. The aim of this project is to involve local people in creating a wildlife corridor, which will run through the Borough. The first phase of the project concentrates on the area between Beckenham Place Park and Kelsey Park. In this area we asked the residents to enhance their gardens and to assist us in enhancing the street areas. To help with this free nest boxes and wildlife friendly plants were offered to, and accepted by, residents along the route as part of this event.

Classes from St Mary's Catholic Primary School and Alexandra Infant School helped on the day, along with representatives from the local Waitrose. We also had good support from residents along Foxgrove Road, who came out with their children to help us with the planting and to voice the support and appreciation of the work being done.

"The children had a great time and it was difficult to get them to stop planting. Our school was keen to take advantage of this opportunity to get involved in this local project. With the work being carried out on the doorstep of the school the children will have the chance to watch as their hard work grows and flowers as they walk by each day," said Mrs I. Vassallo, Headteacher at St Mary's.

Corridors of green spaces contribute to the quality and attractiveness of the local environment, bringing recreational and health benefits. They also support ’biodiversity’, by allowing wildlife to move through the urban landscape. ‘Greening the Beck Corridor’ is just one of 11 innovative environmental projects being carried out as part of the European Union-Life funded SUN in Bromley. They are designed to appeal to as many people as possible and to encourage the appreciation of our environment. Others projects include the Bromley Walking Festival, Green Gardening and Wildlife Recording. All these projects need your involvement to succeed.

"The challenges our wildlife faces in Bromley's urban and rural areas are many. Corridors of green spaces exist on all scales, from a few gardens to rolling valleys. 'Greening the Beck Corridor' aims to encourage thought about the value of the area around Beckenham and the River Beck for biodiversity. By simply installing a nest box or planting wildlife friendly species you can make a great difference", said Guy Harewood, SUN Project Officer for Bromley.

Bromley is one of seven partners in a European Union LIFE funded project, known as 'Sustainable Urban Planning Networks for Green Spaces' or SUN, which is concerned with enhancing wildlife habitats in urban settings. The outcomes from SUN will help to guide London, and other EU cities, in their approach to biodiversity.

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

• 'Greening the Beck Corridor' runs from Beckenham Place Park, through Beckenham Town Centre and on to Spring Park, West Wickham. The first phase of this project involves the area from Beckenham Place Park to Kelsey Park. The rest of the corridor areas will be involved over the coming year.
• The London Borough of Bromley, along with six other partners (London Boroughs of Sutton, Richmond and Redbridge, CIP (A leisure trust for the London Borough of Hounslow), Global to Local (consultants), Legambiente (an environmental organisation in Rome)) has been successful in a bid to the EU LIFE Environment Programme to support the SUN project 'Sustainable Urban Planning Networks for Green Spaces'. The project, ending in August 2006, will build on good practice to develop innovative approaches to improve the involvement of the local community in biodiversity. The processes will be developed through the existing Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) for the Borough.
• 'Biodiversity' is life in all its various forms and relationships. It encompasses the whole range of living things; animals and birds, trees and flowers, insects and fungi. It also includes the complex relationships between them and their physical surroundings. Biodiversity is not just about the rare and threatened species. Just as important is the wildlife we see and experience everyday. Everyone who lives in the Borough can play a part in helping to conserve wildlife for current and future generations to enjoy. The Bromley Biodiversity Action Plan (BBAP) is part of a commitment to conserve and sustain this variety of life.

For media enquiries, please contact Andrew Rogers, Communications Advisor on 020 8461 7670 or Guy Harewood, SUN Project Officer on 020 8313 4665 or e-mail andrew.rogers@bromley.gov.uk.

Further information about the SUN project is available at www.bromley.gov.uk/conservation.