One of the most rewarding aspects of the Bristol99 project has been discovering hidden pockets of wild nature in the most unlikely of places. And so it was that I stepped through a hedge off busy Hengrove Way, and into the hidden oasis of Hawkfield Meadows.
Leading our exploration of this hidden gem was Bristol City Council ecologist Justin Smith, accompanied by a bunch of Bristol99 volunteers and a group of Horizons students and their tutors from next-door South Bristol Skills Academy. As we moved away to the road and into the heart of the meadow, a mix of species-rich grassland, scrub thick with hawthorn, and small patches of woodland, the sound of traffic was replaced by the trill of a blue tit, and the chiffchaff’s slow waltz.
Everyone soon got stuck in to exploring the site, as the volunteers helped the students to identify some of the most common species, including ash and hawthorn trees, cow parsley and cuckoo-pint. Sitting atop the numerous buttercups were a number of the wonderfully monikered swollen-thighed beetle (also known as the fat-legged beetle or the knobbly-kneed beetle).
So if you find yourself visiting the sparkling new Hengrove Park Leisure Centre, finish your swim, cross the road, and spend a few minutes exploring the meadow. You never know what you might find!
Thanks to BNHC’s Ben Connor, for this article
Bristol99 