Biodiversity

Granta Park® sits next to the River Granta with its own lake and three woodland walks. It is home to a variety of wildlife, many of which have taken permanent residence while others are regular visitors. The list of wildlife includes: the native crayfish, otter, kingfisher, little owl, barn owl and stock doves to name but a few. In addition, the wildflower meadow attracts an abundance of insects and butterflies as well as rare flowers such as bee orchids.

Granta Park has a long term partnership with Abington Naturewatch. Volunteers from across the Park report wildlife sightings of particular interest for the group’s blog and in their annual report.

To visit Abington Naturewatch’s blog click here

If you see something of particular interest on the Park and would like to share, please contact the Estate Office.

Innovation - The living wall

To enhance the look of our multi-deck car park, we have installed a modular living wall system. The system includes turning wasted walls into a vertical living garden (getting plants to grow and thrive on a vertical surface is an art). Our living system, installed by ANS, uses natural soil to ensure that the plants are in their natural
environment. The bespoke module is made from recycled material and is recyclable too.

The living wall includes a built-in irrigation system. The supply of water to the wall is essential to healthy plant development. The back of each living wall module is kept moist to facilitate the natural composting of mature roots. Harvested rainwater from the building roof can be used for the wall.

Unlike some other living wall systems, the ANS Living Wall system does not rely on artificial fertilizers being pumped through the wall constantly. However, the irrigation system can be used to add a natural fertiliser or organic pesticides throughout the whole wall, if required.

The system reduces water wastage as it includes natural soil, thereby allows plants to absorb water and nutrients naturally rather than keeping them alive with a frequent flow of water and nutrients.

Beehives

Granta Park® is currently home to several beehives. The honeybees are owned and managed by a local apiarist with several years of experience.

The hives are located in Lagden’s Grove woods and since their introduction in 2018 the honeybees have settled in extremely well. They are bringing back a variety of pollen which indicates there is plenty for them to feed on within the local area. A bee will visit 50-100 flowers during one trip.

The hives have a fenced enclosure well back from the main woodland pathway. The woodland path is of course still open for those that wish to take a lunchtime walk – we just ask you to keep to the strimmed pathway.

If you have any questions at all please do not hesitate to contact the Estate Office.

There are many good websites that explain the importance of bees and why we should look after them. The BBC guide is a good start.

Sustainability

Our approach is built around strong economic, environmental and social values that ensure we make constructive long-term decisions about our business and enable our customers and stakeholders to sustain their own activities, now and in the future. For further information please see below.

Biodiversity

Innovation - The living wall

Beehives

Granta Park® is currently home to several beehives. The honeybees are owned and managed by a local apiarist with several years of experience.

Recycling

We care about having a clean environment at Granta Park® and will be adding more segregated recycle bins around the Park to continue our efforts in recycling.