Information about Friends of the Pentlands:
Friends of the Pentlands is a charity that operates across the Pentland Hills to protect, conserve and enhance the environment by, for example, carrying out maintenance work on paths, the boardwalk, and bridges; clearing drains; placing and replacing route markers; and planting trees.
Information about the project:
In autumn 2023 Friends of the Pentlands (FoP) agreed with the Pentland Hills Regional Park Authority to take on responsibility for the maintenance of a small meadow beside Harlaw Visitor Centre.
FoP wanted to extend the meadow area, doubling its size to approximately 400m2, as part of a programme started in 2022 to create wildflower meadows/habitats across the Pentlands to support six of the more colourful and scarcer rural butterfly species found in the Pentlands (Orange Tip, Common Blue, Small Copper, Dark Green Fritillary, Small Pearl-Bordered Fritillary and Northern Brown Argus).
FoP intended seeding the new area and reseeding the existing area with perennial wildflowers, with particular emphasis on caterpillar foodplants and nectar sources for the target species likely to be within the vicinity (although many pollinators will benefit).
Feedback:
The wildflower seed was purchased and, after giving the grass a hard cut and rake-off, it was spread on the site at Harlaw in Spring 2024. Although, as expected, grass regrowth has been strong, there are signs that wildflowers are beginning to gain a foothold.
Yellow Rattle (an annual that is parasitic on grass) was sown in patches at Harlaw in autumn 2024. It did well enough for seed to be harvested in Summer 2025 for spreading across the rest of the Harlaw site (planned for November 2025). FoP should now be self-sufficient in Yellow Rattle seed by harvesting at the sites they are managing.
FoP has also purchased seed of specific wildflowers (key nectar sources and caterpillar foodplants) to grow on for spot planting and to create their own seed bank stock plants, resulting in greater self-sufficiency. Seed spreading and spot planting at Harlaw is planned for November 2025.
Creation of meadows, including the site at Harlaw, is a long-term programme requiring annual maintenance to remove vegetation and encourage wildflowers. Selective seed sowing and spot planting will continue for a few years to encourage the appearance of the target butterfly species (and other pollinators).
It is still a little too early for any of the target species to appear, but the photograph at the top of this page is of a Ringlet, one of the more common grassland species at the Harlaw meadow this summer.
Application Tranche: 2023-B