• Sitemap
• Text Only
• Full Graphics

You are here: Home > Winners > Case Studies

• How a Green Flag Award encouraged wildlife to Albert Park

• Date:

  13th March 2006

• Contact:

  Sarah Egerton

• Organisation:

  The Civic Trust

Albert Park is a 30 hectare urban park in central Middlesbrough and for many people the park is their only access to high quality green space.

However, despite it being popular for recreation, the site lacked in wildlife without vital resources to attract it. Following the feedback of Green Flag Award judges, management and staff took action to encourage wildlife and tackle head on the assumption in official documents that parks were sometimes little more than ‘green deserts.’

It was back in 2004 that feedback from Green Flag Award judges highlighted Albert Park’s particular weakness on biodiversity.

Management checked a definition of biodiversity which was ‘the variety of plant and animal life.’ The Biodiversity Action Plan for the Tees Valley had a very brief mention for Albert Park under the section on amenity grassland, which said parks were of limited importance to wildlife and were sometimes ‘little more than green deserts.

Community park ranger Francine Marshall, who is developing and implementing a Biodiversity Action Plan for Albert Park, said: “This seemed out of step with the recent restoration programme and efforts we had made following our Green Flag Award feedback. There had been changes not only in the physical layout of Albert Park but also how it was being managed. “

Contact was made with Tees Valley Wildlife Trust and in early 2005 a series of training workshops were arranged, linking up with other council staff.

The outcomes were quite diverse. Initially staff began to identify ‘wilder’ areas. A programme was developed to put up bird boxes around the site and wildflower plugs were planted in the meadow which is now showing promise. Other areas were left to spontaneously regenerate.

Events and activities were also developed to help the public explore the biodiversity of the park and explain why and what we are trying to achieve. A successful application was made for a Nuffield Science Bursary student to carry out in depth work on a key project and birds and butterflies are now regularly monitored and recorded by park rangers.

Francine added: “Part of the parks ranger’s role is to preserve and maintain the park for future generations, a long way from the old image of the peak-capped parkie telling you to get off the grass.

“The Green Flag Award is great for us as well as our park users. It helps us to focus on our work and provides us with a benchmark to measure our progress.

“The difficult balancing act between people and the landscape still continues but we realise that not everything we try will work and there is always a lot still to be done.”

For further information on increasing biodiversity in a park, contact Francine Marshall on: 01642 230919 or email: