Bell orchids and kidney vetch are among the thousands of wildflowers set to spring up in Basingstoke and Deane over the coming years after two acres of new meadows were planted earlier this month.

More than five kilograms of the seeds that were sown were gathered and hand sorted by volunteers from Natural Basingstoke. The rest were collected by Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council’s rangers, using a brush harvester.

The final seed-sowing session took place at Crabtree Plantation on Tuesday (25 November), where the council’s rangers were joined by volunteers from the Black Dam and Crabtree Conservation Group to plant new meadows in the area.

This followed similar sessions already undertaken elsewhere in Basingstoke by the council’s rangers at Gershwin Road in Brighton Hill and at Lyford Road in Norden.

Cabinet Member for Climate and Ecological Emergency Cllr Chris Tomblin said: “Working with local conservation groups and Natural Basingstoke, we’re continuing our work to create even more wildflower meadows in green spaces across the borough.

“As well as looking beautiful when they start to bloom, these wildflowers will give wildlife including bees and butterflies the food and shelter they need to thrive. Everything we do like this makes a difference for nature and I encourage everyone to see how they can get involved.”

In similar planting sessions last year, volunteers from 10 nature groups, Natural Basingstoke and the council’s rangers sowed seeds across over 14 acres of land. The wildflowers, which will provide food for pollinators including bees and butterflies, are now starting to sprout.

The council’s work with volunteers to enhance and create habitats supports the biodiversity strategy it adopted last year, which guides its efforts to reverse the decline in nature recovery and tackle the ecological emergency.

Opportunities to make a difference for the borough’s plants and wildlife by becoming a local nature volunteer can be found at https://NaturalBasingstoke.org.uk

More information about the council’s work to support nature recovery is at www.basingstoke.gov.uk/ecology