News
Unfortunately we didn't make it to the last 3 but getting to the last 10 best national environment projects was a huge achievement.
Look out for
the finalists on the National Lottery website
Our Great Outdoors Project in Knowsley, Merseyside funded by the Big Lottery, invites local people to come along and help us sow seed in their parks and greenspaces. supported by this Big Lottery project and Knowsley Metropolitain Borough Council.
Last year in 2 sample surveys we did for Great Outdoors, a huge majority of local people said the wildflowers made them more likely to go outside more and be physically active. They also felt that the presence of wildflowers increased community spirit. We are also confirming through general surveys that over 90% of people feel that parks and greenspaces are really important to their physical and mental health and wellbeing.
People want more investment in simple things like wildflower areas that bring nature to their doorstep, encourage family activities, and help combat the stress of daily life.
Great Outdoors is working on 15 wildflower areas in Knowsley in 2010, more
New Landscapes for a civil society in a changing climate.
A new publication for spring 2010 co-authored by Landlife with the UK UNESCO MAB Urban Forum
Download this publication
Everyone wants their outdoor neighbourhood to be attractive, stimulating, safe and well cared for - a place to be proud of. Everyone wants daily life to be more satisfying and less stressful - to be able to go outside more often enhances personal well-being and helps people to get to know and trust more of their neighbours. Achieving these aspirations, builds stable communities with positive outlooks about their environment.
This is what people want, it is what health practitioners advocate, it is what public authorities should deliver to create livable cities and promote social cohesion.
Climate change poses a threat. People can be engaged in adapting
their locality to climate change, and in the process, bring about positive
social
benefits for themselves and their communities. More
The National Wildflower Centre has secured £200,000 of funding from the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) towards its plan to build a new educational, conference and seed production complex. The scheme, designed by Manchester-based Ian Simpson Architects, faced a public consultation meeting on 20 November before a planning application can be submitted.
Richard Tracey, head of environmental quality, NWDA said: "The aspiration to produce a new educational and visitor facility that will engage young people in exploring mathematics and science through wildflowers is an admirable and exciting one which has a potentially strong resonance with the agency's environmental quality and skills agenda." more
Landlife’s soil inversion technique to increase biodiversity has been crowned the winner of this year's Merseyside Innovation Awards, beating fellow finalists Isothermal Technology and Industrial Purification Systems. The business scooped the award at a ceremony held at Liverpool's Crowne Plaza Hotel in front of 150 people. Landlife will now receive a £10,000 cash prize plus £4,000 worth of legal, business, accounting or design consultancy; support from some of the region's leading business advisers; and publicity for the idea.
Grant Luscombe,
chief executive of Landlife, said: "In Liverpool's Year of the Environment,
it is fantastic to get this recognition. With this money and advice we can
look at the intellectual property rights around this, which we could not have
done before." The winner was judged by a panel that included Trevor Baylis,
the inventor of the Clockwork Radio, Professor Murray Dalziel from the University
of Liverpool and Steve Smith, ICT director at Liverpool Vision.
The awards aim to recognise and reward the use of innovation as a means of
boosting growth and profitability. They are sponsored by Insider, Vanguard,
Alliance Fund Managers, Amatica, BBC Radio Merseyside, Brabners Chaffe Street,
Business Link, Liverpool Chamber of Commerce, Paver Smith, RBS/Natwest, RTC
Northwest, The University of Liverpool Business Gateway and WP Thompson. See
our Projects page for details of our
Soil Inversion work.
For more information contact luscombe@landlife.org.uk
or telephone
Grant Luscombe or Richard Scott on 0151 737 1819
Landlife Wildflowers has a unique special offer. Vouchers can be purchased from £5 to £25 pounds. This offer includes a Landlife Wildflowers Gift Voucher, Plant and Seed Catalogue and the Wildlife Gardening Booklet. Buy your loved one a gift online here.
Also - A brand new seed mix for 2010 'Gardener's Double Delight' more here and a New Wetland plants mix special offer.
National
Wildflower Centre
The centre is open for conferencing and our award winning demonstration
areas and visitor centre are also open.
The Cornflower Cafe is open 10.am - 4.pm and offers delicious hot and cold
meals, and there's now a new 2010
events leaflet full of creative nature events. From food growing to creating
meadows, arts workshops and foody events. For more information on the National
Wildflower Centre, founded by Landlife visit www.nwc.org.uk
or phone 0151 738 1913
New building
design competition.
Superbeezbuzzbyawildlambanana
Landlife ran a successful practical workshop in April 2010 at the National Wildflower Centre in partnership with 2 of the leading small scale green roof experts.
John Little founder of the Grassroof Company, and Dusty Gedge from Livingroofs.org led the event, aimed at environment and community groups, DIY enthusiasts and small scale roofers. Richard Scott from Landlife also talked about choosing substrates for planting and seeding as an important part of sustainable green rood design.
Participants are keen to develop a Green Roof Network in the Northwest to share good practice and profile successful projects. For more information contact Richard Scott on 0151 737 1819 or email rscott@landlife.org.uk
We aim to run more green roof events at the National Wildflower Centre with John and Dusty in the future.
John Little and Dusty Gedge
A natural
attraction for St.Helens
Wildflower
fields at Inglenook Farm, Rainford, St Helens are supporting
the Council's sustainable rural business strategy with an exciting project
to develop a new farm attraction. Our trading business Landlife Wildflowers
is bringing its wildflower production fields to Ingleook Farm off the A570,
just outside Rainford village, and linking with the National Wildflower Centre
in Knowsley.
The first phase saw 12 hectares (30 acres) sown with annuals and perennials
this year and we plan to sow additional fields in Spring 2009. Inglenook Farm
is also the new home of Phytobotanica,
a small business leading the UK field in the production of organic essential
oils.
Wildflower Field-Inglenook Farm
They are leasing
the farmhouse and outbuildings together with land at the farm to develop a
new National Essential Oil Farm and Research Centre.
The farmhouse is the new base for its Hygeia School of Holistic Therapies.
More information
on our new National Wildflower Farm
Or contact Janet Pell jpell@landlife.org.uk
or call 0151 737 1819
In our five year strategy for 2007-12, we have set out our key priorities and the action we will take to achieve these. You can download here or contact info@landlife.org.uk for a printed version
Don't forget to follow our youtube channel and view our latest video.
Landlife Conservation Channel.
National Wildflower Centre Channel.
