Spectacular grasslands in Inverclyde

As our understanding of the importance of grassland habitats has grown in recent years, local authorities have adapted and changed the way they create and manage their grasslands.  These new, innovative approaches to grassland management have led to some incredible results for nature and people.

For the Inverclyde Council parks team, led by Arboricultural, Horticultural & Training Officer Alex McGhee, a range of new grassland management practices have been trialed over the past few years, and with some spectacular results. The approach has been methodical, with learnings then applied to other sites they own and manage.

Following scoping work with the GCR Green Network and Green Action Trust in early 2024, an initial 16 sites were identified for meadow creation that would trial different approaches.

Alex McGhee, said “We first worked at two of the largest sites at Parklea in Port Glasgow, using different ground preparation techniques known as ploughing and scarifying, before the seed mixes were sown in.”

“The results showed that the ploughed site produced the best and quickest results with a really colourful wildflower meadow created in the same year, while noticeably fewer wildflowers appeared on the scarified site.”