Sometimes there is only time to squeeze in a short walk to see what's growing wild and let Baby Wild run wild for 20 minutes. Not far from us is the site of an old school, which has been looked after by Friends of Spiers who have turned the space into a wild garden with help from some funding from the council and other organisations. I'm including it on here because it's a great example of little known local gems, proving that sometimes community spirit in the west of Scotland still survives!
It 's a great place to go for a stroll rather than a walk, so ideal for toddlers and older folk too should you have great granny visiting! If you're in Beith and wondering how to get there, here's a link with directions. You could park your car in Beith, and walk to Spiers, spend some time nature hunting before setting out Geilsland Road towards Gateshead where you can enjoy a pint and lunch in the very child friendly pub there. Many community activities have come together to improve the site and to promote use. These have included a community clean up organized by the Beith Community Council, bulb and tree planting by Gateside Primary School and the construction of new paths by Ardrossan Academy pupils. Earlier this year funding from North Ayrshire Council and Forestry Commission Scotland enabled a network of paths to be provided which meander through the quiet park, flanked by wild garlic, ferns and wild flowers. There is also a 'Living Fossil' tree, the slow growing Dawn Redwood. The tree was originally surrounded by a key shaped edged path network with other ornamental plantings.
Local schools and youth groups are involved in the restoration project and this has enabled the young participants to get new practical and social skills. For those pupils who participate the garden has acted as an “ outdoor classroom”. The initiative is in line with the Curriculum for Excellence and will help achieve the national outcome that young people are successful learners; confident individuals; effective contributors and responsible citizens. I love that some of the Out of School clubs have been building a 'Bug Hotel' or 'Munchy Bug Restaurant' with the help of the NAC Garnock Valley Ranger. The group collected a number of old wooden pallets, nailed them together, roofed the 'hotel' with turf sods and filled the 'floors' with wood, sticks, bricks, slates, stones, tree tubes, etc to create a wide variety of habitats which will encourage a 'high occupancy'. The group are keeping an eye on the 'hotels' progress and any interesting species found will be added to the National Biodiversity Database operated by the NAC Biological Records Centre at Eglinton Country Park. I think that's a cute idea!
