SK5538 : Nottingham's urban wildlife, June 2022 13
taken 2 years ago, near to Lenton, Nottingham, England
This small reserve (just 1.2 hectares) was created in 1992 as a receptor site for flora and fauna that would otherwise have been destroyed by development on the former Wilford Power Station site. When the power station was decommissioned in the 1960, a layer of pulverised fuel ash (PFA) was spread on the site. Nature being nature, the area became colonised by two species of orchid; common spotted (Dactylorhiza fuchsia), southern marsh (Dactylorhiza praetermissa) which then pollinated and produced hybrids. Other species typical of sparsely-vegetated, man-made sites also colonised, creating a very unusual post-industrial grassland habitat of high conservation value.
In 1995 large sections of vegetated ash turf were successfully translocated from the power station site, which was being redeveloped for business use, to the newly-created King's Meadow reserve. The reserve is owned by the Nottinghamshire City Council but it is managed by the Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust.
Although the reserve is only small, the man-made nature has resulted in an unusually high diversity of habitats within a compact area.