Ayrshire Nectar Network sets up Eglinton Park nursery

A plant and tree nursery has been established at the park, as part of an initiative called the Ayrshire Nectar Network.

The network is a project that is being spearheaded by the Scottish Wildlife Trust, with backing from partners including North and South Ayrshire Councils.

Land – from small pockets of grass to large swathes of fields – is being linked up to create a corridor of flowers that bees, butterflies, moths, bats and birds will benefit from. 

Through the North Ayrshire Native Plant Nursery, which is part of Eglinton Community Gardens within the country park, the future of many local plant and tree species is being protected.

North Ayrshire Council has contributed £100,000 to the Ayrshire Nectar Network through the Scottish Government’s Nature Restoration Fund (NRF), which helps local authorities fund projects that help tackle the nature emergency we are currently experiencing.

The council’s biodiversity officer Neal Lochrie said: “The nursery is part of the wider Nectar Network.

"The important work being done here will help to protect our plant and tree species for future generations.”

Linda Tedford, a council Countryside Ranger, is involved in the project through working with voluntary seed collectors, who are from the Ground Force - Nurturing Heroes gardening group for armed services’ veterans.

She said: “The volunteers have been getting a great deal from this opportunity. They have been collecting tree and wildflower seeds out in the wild, and then learning how to propagate them, sow them, bring them on and harvest them.

Linda Tedford (Image: NAC) “The feedback from them has been brilliant and they are really enjoying being part of the project – because they are learning so much and also because of the social aspect of it.”

The number of pollinators – including bees - around the world is in severe decline and they need human help to survive.

Lynne Bates, the Trust’s nectar network co-ordinator, added: “The nursery project fits in really well with the work we are doing with North Ayrshire Council.

“It means we’ll have a fantastic source of locally-grown plants and trees, with the seeds being collected locally.

"And we can then plant these out across the whole region, with support from partners including environmental charity Eadha Enterprises.”

To find out more about the Ayrshire Nectar Network and how you can volunteer or get involved, go to https://scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/our-work/our-projects/ayrshire-nectar-network.