The St Nick’s environment centre in York has won a £109,000 government grant to create three wildlife-friendly ‘green corridors’ around the city.

One will lead from the Rawcliffe car park down through Clifton Ings to Homestead Park.

A second will start in Millennium Fields, near the Millennium Bridge, and head out through Fulford Ings and the Fulford community orchard, under the York bypass, to the designer outlet at Naburn.

The third, meanwhile, will link Tang Hall beck and Osbaldwick beck with St Nicks itself and the Hempland allotments.

The aim will be to protect endangered species such as the water vole and tansy beetle - and also to increase wildlife diversity.

The money, which has come from the government’s Green Recovery Challenge Fund, will enable St Nick’s to recruit two part-time staff, and will also cover things like training ‘citizen scientists’ to assess urban wildlife habitats and do species counts.

York Press:

Map showing York's 'green corridors'

St Nicks natural habitats manager Jonathan Dent admitted York was already blessed with some amazing ‘natural green corridors’ – often wetland and grassland areas running alongside the rivers, flood meadows, and Ings. But often there were barriers in the way of wildlife being able to move along these corridors, such as roads or culverts, he said.

There were also ‘amenity’ areas of mowed grass which, from a wildlife point of view, were little more than deserts.

The green corridors funding would aim to bring together existing volunteer groups and friends groups with the Environment Agency, parish councils and others to try to create more sustainable green corridors, Mr Dent said.

It might be possible to plant hedgerows or areas of wildflower or hay meadow, to increase biodiversity, he said.

The project would also enable volunteers to tackle invasive species such as Himalayan balsa – which threatens the tansy plants on which York’s rare tansy beetle depends – and American mink, which prey on water voles.

Millennium Fields is an example of the kind of approach that could be used to improve wildlife diversity, Mr Dent said.

“It’s a former landfill turned amenity grassland, where it has been possible to create new plots of wildflowers and small bits of hedgerow.”

York Press:

Surveying Osbaldwick Beck for freshwater invertebrates

St Nicks had been working on its bid for green corridors funding for several years, he said.

“So it is incredibly rewarding for the hard work to have finally paid off!

“Green Corridors York will work across the Clifton Ings, Fulford Ings and Tang Hall and Osbaldwick Beck corridors to create new and enhance existing habitats to benefit endangered species such as tansy beetle and water vole.

"Through close working with local nature conservation groups, land owners and communities we will bring people together to have a bigger impact across the corridors and improve the resilience of core wildlife sites such as Fulford Ings.”

The Green Corridors project will begin in Seoptember and run until March 2023.

To find out more, including how to get involved, visit stnicks.org.uk/get-inspired/our-projects/green-corridors-york/ or contact jonathan@stnicks.org.uk