Flower beds and wildflower meadows
Pollinators such as bees and other insects are seriously declining in number yet are essential to the food chain. We are keen to increase the number of pollinators by planting flowers and shrubs and creating new wildflower meadows that will attract them.
Flower beds at Ambleside YHA
The Ambleside Youth Hostel at Waterhead provides accommodation and sustenance for adults, groups, families and also large groups of children on field trips, throughout the year.
We have continued with the YHA manager to weed, plant and nurture the four flower beds and the newly developing waterfront wildflower strips. We have managed to get something done most weeks but maintenance is vital and watering in dry spells is being done by YHA staff. We are quite pleased with progress. An additional sign to explain what we are doing has been obtained.
The Ambleside Youth Hostel at Waterhead provides accommodation and sustenance for adults, groups, families and also large groups of children on field trips, throughout the year.
We have continued with the YHA manager to weed, plant and nurture the four flower beds and the newly developing waterfront wildflower strips. We have managed to get something done most weeks but maintenance is vital and watering in dry spells is being done by YHA staff. We are quite pleased with progress. An additional sign to explain what we are doing has been obtained.
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In 2023 the beds are flourishing with a good show of miniature daffodils. In March a resident YHA working party spent a week working on the beds that AAFAF volunteers had planted. The main task was to put in place a sturdy border to edge the larger bed aiming at preventing vehicles driving over the beds. A linked system of gabions filled with rocks will also provide a home for bugs and pollinating insects to shelter and looks quite good.
The beds will benefit from some planting and tending. 
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Wildflower meadows
We are making our first new wildflower meadow in a small triangle of land by Miller Bridge with the help of Ambleside Primary School. The project has been enabled by a grant from the Lake District Foundation and has the permission and support of the tenant farmer.
We began the project in 2021 by mowing the grass, and removing fallen tree branches (thanks to Roger Peak) and the self-sown ash saplings in the area. In a second session we raked off the mown grass, removed a lot of the brambles and sapling roots, and planted 20 bluebell bulbs under the Turkey Oak. In a final session on 4 November pupils from Ambleside Primary School planted about 75 snowdrops.
Storm Arwen brought down a large oak tree. However this provided a new opportunity and we cleared the brash leaving some branches to provide a home for new flora and fauna.
In spring 2022 we planted 100 wildflower and 50 yellow rattle plugs and scattered wildflower seed and by summer the meadow was looking lush with at least a dozen different wildflower species growing. It is a shady area, and will always look its best in the spring, but it has produced a variety of flowers for insects right through the summer.
We strimmed the grass in late-August and will maintain a good covering of grass through the autumn and winter - we want to ensure that the surface is not washed away by the floods that are expected in the winter. In November 2022 we installed an information board about the project and the fauna and fauna expected to be found in the different seasons.
We cleaned the bench and the well-worn path leading to it shows that it is well-used, but sadly the legs are rotting and will need repair in the near future. We are currently trying to trace the owner.
Passers-by have already commented on the improved appearance of the area.
We began the project in 2021 by mowing the grass, and removing fallen tree branches (thanks to Roger Peak) and the self-sown ash saplings in the area. In a second session we raked off the mown grass, removed a lot of the brambles and sapling roots, and planted 20 bluebell bulbs under the Turkey Oak. In a final session on 4 November pupils from Ambleside Primary School planted about 75 snowdrops.
Storm Arwen brought down a large oak tree. However this provided a new opportunity and we cleared the brash leaving some branches to provide a home for new flora and fauna.
In spring 2022 we planted 100 wildflower and 50 yellow rattle plugs and scattered wildflower seed and by summer the meadow was looking lush with at least a dozen different wildflower species growing. It is a shady area, and will always look its best in the spring, but it has produced a variety of flowers for insects right through the summer.
We strimmed the grass in late-August and will maintain a good covering of grass through the autumn and winter - we want to ensure that the surface is not washed away by the floods that are expected in the winter. In November 2022 we installed an information board about the project and the fauna and fauna expected to be found in the different seasons.
We cleaned the bench and the well-worn path leading to it shows that it is well-used, but sadly the legs are rotting and will need repair in the near future. We are currently trying to trace the owner.
Passers-by have already commented on the improved appearance of the area.
Steve Sharp and Jonathan Moffett installing the information board in November 2022
Registered Charity Number 1188921