We had a wonderful evening with residents of Wardie Bay on Monday evening, looking at the diverse plants that can be found on and around the beach . It was a warm and sunny night and the beach was full of Edinburgh folk – swimming, fishing for mackerel and enjoying al fresco dinners.
A group of us walked around the beach to see what plant species we could find, and the list was long. Very encouraging! Many were colourful, smelled wonderful and provide an important function for the pollinators in the ecosystem.
Here’s what we found:
Coastal specific:
Sea milkwort
Sea rocket
Sea lyme grass
Common orache
Sea mayweed
Others:
Lesser trefoil
Curled dock
Ribwort plantain
Yarrow
Creeping thistle
Mugwort
Common knapweed
Spear thistle
Field scabious
Rosebay willowherb
Cocksfoot grass
We will record the species on iRecord so that the data feeds into the NBN Atlas.
We also chatted about our plans to introduce some new wildflower plants at the entrance to the beach. We have been growing some wildflower seeds with children at Wardie Bay Primary School, such as thirft and birds foot trefoil. We will plant these close to the main beach entrance, and those plants that need little substrate will also be planted in the crevices of the wall. We’re looking forward to working with the children to undertake this planting in September, and by next year you should see a wonderful splash of colour in the area, which will provide an important food source for bees and other pollinators.