Work finished on The Swifts nature reserve in central Carlisle

The Swifts golf course and driving range in the city centre has become one of the very first urban bee and butterfly oasis in the North West.

The Swifts site, in the centre of Carlisle, includes grassland, woodland and riverbanks.

It has been transformed into an urban nature reserve thanks to £80,000 funding from Cumbria Waste Management Environment Trust (CWMET) and £8,000 from the Environment Agency.

The funding has 'breathed new life into the site', according to the council, transforming once manicured greens and fairways into wildflower meadows, species-rich wetland and native woodland, helping to boost populations of bees and butterflies.

The site is owned by Carlisle City Council, who worked collaboratively with Cumbria Wildlife Trust to ensure the successful delivery of the project.

Signage at the spruced-up Swifts site

With improved access and signage, and within close walking distance of Carlisle city centre, the site is described as 'an oasis for wildlife and visitors to the site'.

Over the past two years, the City Council has removed old golf course infrastructure; thinned dense stands of non-native amenity trees; re-created species rich hay meadows; planted native flowering tree species; and installed a series of shallow seasonal bodies of water, known as scrapes.

'Essential habitat for pollinating insects'

Cllr Nigel Christian, portfolio holder for Environment and Transport, said: “Pollinating insects are a critical component of a healthy ecosystem, however more than half of UK bee, butterfly and moth species have declined in the past 50 years and 30 species of bee face extinction.

"Over the last 75 years 97 per cent of flower rich meadows have been lost, whilst 60 per cent of flowering plants are in decline.

“The Swifts project restores and create three different types of habitat in the centre of Carlisle: wildflower hay meadows; diverse woodland containing native flowering tree and shrub species; and wet grassland featuring seasonal scrapes (shallow pools of water).

"This combination will not only provide essential habitat for pollinating insects but will also offer feeding and nesting opportunities for a wide range of bird and mammal species.

"As part of the project, we have retained and enhanced the existing network of informal public footpaths across the site.”

'A great example'

Jody Ferguson, community development manager (Cumberland) for Cumbria Wildlife Trust said: “The Swifts project has been an incredible opportunity to work in partnership with Carlisle City Council to create valuable new wildlife habitat that will contribute to nature’s recovery.

"Its city centre location means it is a wonderful, accessible place for people too, and we know a thriving, wildlife-rich environment benefits both physical and mental health.

Wildlife habitat on the Swifts site

"It’s a great example of how spaces in urban areas can be transformed for both wildlife and people and we’d love to see more projects like this across the city.”

Funding and accessibility

The funding was secured by Cumbria Wildlife Trust, and working in partnership with Carlisle City Council, the restoration works were part of the Get Cumbria Buzzing! Project. The project is supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund and aims to create and link pollinator habitat across northwest Cumbria. 

Contractors working on the council’s behalf on the project were: OpenSpace Cumbria Ltd, Evans Agricultural Contractors Ltd, Cumbria Wildflowers Ltd and Volker Stevin Ltd.

The Swifts has remained open to the public throughout the duration of the project. Entrance points are located to the rear of the Sands Centre, off Swifts Bank Car Park and from the flood embankment to the North of Trinity School.

A burgeoning meadow on the site

It will continue to be managed and maintained by Carlisle City Council’s Green Spaces team to improve and develop the range of habitats created during this project.

This includes management of the grassland areas by cutting and removing an annual hay crop, plus additional planting of wildflower plug plants and additional trees, when and where appropriate.

The Swifts will feature in Cumbria Wildlife Trust's Big Buzz Conference and Fringe in Carlisle on September 23-25, including a council led-team planting 4,000 wildflower plug plants at the site.

Cumbria Wildlife Trust is also seeking people’s views on other spaces in the city that could be transformed for nature and local communities, respond online on their website.