York walls in bloom

Residents and visitors will be able to experience areas of the city walls from a fresh perspective next spring, as this unique and historic space blooms into life.

Volunteers and businesses from across the city are coming together this week to help transform the City Walls embankments, for the first phase of the York Walls in Bloom project.

This unique green space will evolve into a beautiful biodiverse landscape, where residents and visitors will be able to enjoy seeing many different pollinators thrive.

Over its 2,000-year-old history, the city walls embankments (ramparts) have constantly evolved and changed from being cleared sheer slopes, areas of grazing until the mid-20^th century and in recent years manicured lawns and bedding plants.

The first phase of the York in Bloom project will be in the city centre at Station Rise. The area around the Station Rise rampart has over the centuries seen some of the most dramatic changes in landscape visible anywhere on the city walls.

The season bedding displays here will be familiar to many residents and visitors, but this approach is not without its downsides. It’s resource intensive in terms of water and carbon used in the growing, transporting, planting, weeding and removing bedding plants. This makes the practice increasingly unsustainable for the city and the planet.

Cllr Jenny Kent, Executive Member for Environment and Climate Emergency, said “York is proud to have some of the UK’s best preserved medieval walls, and this partnership project to cover the site at Station Rise in meadow flowers for York Walls in Bloom will not only look beautiful, it will also help support York’s bees, moths and butterflies, and help preserve the ramparts underneath. We are lucky to have expert advice from many partners and are also in the process of reviewing our maintenance of the walls overall. We will ensure that we adopt the very best heritage and ecology conservation practices to prevent soil erosion, which increases with extreme heat and increased rainfall, maximise the environmental benefit, and keep the Walls looking great for generations to come.”

Inspired by projects such as the Tower of London ‘Moat in Bloom’, the council believes that carefully managed wild flowering could offer the right mix of stunning visuals, increased sustainability and improved habitat.

York Walls in Bloom is being carefully introduced over the course of 2024. Earlier this year, the area was left to grow naturally for several months so that the ecological study could be undertaken. This was critical so that the council knew that any intervention wouldn’t endanger existing habitats.

While next year will see a spectacular floral display near Station Rise, the area will still be very carefully managed over several years to balance the ecology of the site. The second phase of the project will be extended to the Red Tower, Walmgate next year. This will transform the flatter sections of rampart on the outside of the city walls by sowing wildflowers in Spring, to create a floral display in summer 2025, which over the following years will be carefully managed into a sustainable natural floral meadow.

Introducing a more sustainable, natural environment in the coming years, including changing how frequently the grass is cut in this area, will ensure a healthier soil and more wildflower growth.

The York in Walls project has gained the backing and sponsorship of local businesses.

Simon Mahon, General Manager of The Grand York, said: “We’re delighted to be working on the York Walls in Bloom project. We’re very proud sponsors and are looking forward seeing wildflowers being introduced along the walls, which naturally will make this historical part of York even more beautiful. Here at The Grand, York, as part of our sustainability initiative we house approximately 50,000 bees on our roof – the honey they produce is used throughout The Grand in desserts, pastries and cocktails. So, we’re really happy to support this project.”

From Tuesday 24 September, works will be visible on the ground when the turf will be ‘turned’ to allow for the sowing of the wildflowers.

With the help of York Cares, volunteers from across the city will come together to support the project and help sow the seeds.

Holly Hennell, Manager, York Cares, “The 16th annual York Cares Big Community Challenge is taking place between 16 September and 11 October in partnership with City of York Council, St Nicks and the University of York. The challenge aims to connect communities with nature, providing volunteering opportunities at over 30 sites across the city along routes leading into the city centre around the city walls. Employee-volunteers will get involved with a variety of practical activities to enhance biodiversity across the city including sowing seeds as part of the York Walls in Bloom project, a fantastic initiative which will really brighten up the city whilst also benefiting the environment. The York Cares team is excited to be able to get involved in one of the sessions alongside their members, demonstrating the difference we can make when we come together.”

The York in Bloom project is funded by the Green Corridors project , the National Lottery Community Fund and is sponsored by local businesses including The Grand York.

For more information about the project visit:   www.york.gov.uk/YorkWallsInBloom