Whittlesea railway station given 'Wildlife Friendly' status
Whittlesea Railway Station has received a ‘Wildlife Friendly’ accreditation, recognising efforts to support biodiversity and nature there.
Greater Anglia has partnered with the region’s Wildlife Trusts to formally recognise the achievements of its teams of volunteer ‘station adopters’ to create wildlife havens at stations across its network, through the ‘Greater Anglia Wildlife Friendly Stations Accreditation Scheme.’
Whittlesea’s rail station- spelt differently from the common spelling of the town- has volunteer station adopters, Geoff Howes, Andrew Hill and Peter Anderson and it was they who received the award following an assessment by an ecologist to determine how well the station supports local flora and fauna.
Whittlesea station is also supported by the Hereward Community Rail Partnership.
The ecologist’s report noted that although the area of the station greenspace is small, it is valuable for biodiversity as it features scrub, grassland and flowering plants.
The station platforms are adorned with planters and troughs overflowing with flowering plants.
In particular, the ecologist commented: “The plants create a bright welcoming environment for visitors and provide for pollinating insects. The Sunflowers stand tall over Petunia, Lobelia and Fuchsia and nearby planters contain Antirrhinum, Purple Toadflax, Marigold, Rosemary and Geranium. The range of heights and structure of plants, colours and flowering periods is well designed to benefit biodiversity.”
James Hogg, Development Officer at the Norfolk Wildlife Trust, the lead Trust for the initiative, said: “This project with Greater Anglia, now in its fifth year, is a fantastic example of how people can transform nature-poor areas into new nature-rich places – and change the way we think about land, seizing opportunities to help nature outside traditional nature reserves.”
Greater Anglia’s Customer and Community Engagement Manager, Alan Neville, added: “We are delighted to partner with the region’s wildlife trusts to formally recognise the valuable work of our station adopter volunteers in supporting wildlife and improving their local environment.”