The NWC is part of the Eden Project and has been co-ordinating the huge task of gathering, cleaning, sowing, growing, and harvesting enough wildflower seed to plant the route of nearly four miles.
Construction of the link road between the A30 and St Austell is in the final phase. Seed sowing along approximately 45 acres of banks and verges began this autumn and will create a corridor of vitally important wildflower, woodland and heathland habitats. These will provide wildlife with better connectivity to the wider landscape and help increase biodiversity.
There will be new routes for cycling, walking and horse-riding on five and a half miles of newly-built paths.
The NWC, in partnership with civil engineering consultancy, Griffiths, Cornwall Council and other stakeholders, has been working together for five years to develop this pioneering landscaping strategy, which they see as a model for similar developments around the UK.
Because seed gathered in Cornwall was not readily available from mainstream suppliers, the NWC and their Wildflower Warriors have been working hard to collect it and grow it on.
To do this, they built a network of seed donors comprising local farmers, agricultural contractors and environmental and community groups. Local ecology consultancy, Code 7 Consulting Ltd, supplied local provenance heather seed and algae propagules for the heathland creation.
To increase biodiversity, the NWC is sowing a mix of annual and perennial wildflower seed, meaning that the habitats will be blooming for years to come.
The establishment of the wildflower corridor is one of many National Wildflower Centre projects dotted around the UK.
Stephanie Knights, NWC project manager, said: “We want to ensure the new road is as natural and biodiverse as a road can be, featuring an abundance of wildflowers that are typical of the Cornish countryside.
“Producing enough seed for such a large area has been a mammoth task and we’ve seen some great teamwork involving our volunteers from the local community, local landowners, and the partners involved in the building of the road.
“You are going to get lots of vibrant colours of annual wildflowers – yellow, blue, white, red in the first year and in the second year the colours will be more subtle as the perennial wildflowers start to establish.”
Annual wildflowers will act as a nursery crop which will help establish the perennial species typically seen in Cornish hedgerows and on the coast path, including red campion, wild carrot, ox-eye daisy and devil’s-bit scabious.
Stephanie added: “We are bringing vibrance and colour into communities but we are also educating people about the important wildflower habitat that has declined massively since World War Two in the UK.
“We have actually lost 97 per cent of our wildflower habitats since then so we are trying to bring them back from the brink.
“Establishing a team of enthusiastic volunteers from the local community willing to give their time and energy to the road project has massively contributed to the successful harvest.
“The activity has also proven to have had an unexpected yet very positive impact on mental health and wellbeing, especially emerging from the negative effects of the global pandemic.”
The St Austell to A30 link road is a new route that will connect the old A30 near Victoria to the north to the A391 at Stenalees roundabout to the south.
It is a vital link to bring opportunities to the area, including improving economic growth by upgrading links to St Austell from the rest of the UK and making it easier to get to Cornwall's growing employment sites and reduce traffic congestion in villages between the A30 and St Austell.
Connor Donnithorne, Cornwall Council cabinet portfolio holder for transport, said: “Sustainability is at the heart of this construction project, and I would like to thank the volunteers and the team at the National Wildflower Centre for their dedication in bringing this particular element to fruition.
“As well as supporting local biodiversity, this new route will not only take through traffic - in particular heavy goods vehicles - away from clay country communities and the front doors of homes lining the route, but also provide a network of walking and cycle routes to give residents car-free options for how they travel short distances and explore the local area.”
Mike Andrew, Griffiths project manager, said: “Griffiths is delighted to collaborate with the Eden Project National Wildflower Centre on this transformative construction scheme. Their commitment to sustainability and community aligns perfectly with our vision for this project. Together, we’re not only building structures. We are creating spaces that have a lasting positive impact on the environment and future generations.”
The long-term aim with the wildflower project is that it will deliver verifiable biodiversity gain over decades and is created with the local community.
The NWC has a significant track record of delivering expansive ecological landscaping in the public realm. Nationally it has sown nearly 250 acres of wildflowers, and more projects are planned.
Knowledge and experience of what works has been accumulated through many road corridor projects nationally, working in partnership with organisations including Mersey Gateway Trust, Merseytravel, Knowsley Metropolitan & Liverpool and Manchester City Council.
To find out more about the National Wildflower Centre at the Eden Project, visit www.edenproject.com.
