Website: www.laganvalley.co.uk

Location: Northern Ireland

Lagan Valley Regional Park is Northern Ireland’s first and only Regional Park, covering 4,200 acres of countryside and 11 miles of riverbank. As such a large and iconic space, the Laganscape project is keen to ensure that the community have some say in its management, as well as improving the park in general through a variety of partnerships with different organisations.
Laganscape is made up of a range of projects. These include planting over 2,000 oak trees, with the help of local schoolchildren, building and erecting over 100 bird boxes to make the area more attractive to a wide range of bird species, surveying wildflowers, training local people as heritage guides and restoring a lock chamber of the historic Lagan Canal, along with its Lock Keeper’s Cottage. Such projects hope to meet the three main aims of Laganscape: to maintain and enhance the landscape quality and environment of the park; to conserve the native flora and fauna, natural habitats and species and man-made heritage; and to provide opportunities for research, education and interpretation.
Lottery funding has been used to cover the running costs of various elements, including paying for staff, tools, materials and training costs. “Without funding from the Lottery, none of the achievements of the past year would have been possible,” says Project Manager Brendan O’Connor. Laganscape also benefits from having strong links with 25 other organisations, including three councils, The National Trust and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency, which help it achieve its aims.
The mixture of habitats and heritage conservation is attracting visitors in their thousands. Some come to enjoy the scenery, walk quietly along the towpath or to visit the restored lock and its cottage. “It’s a representation of living history,” says Brendan. Hundreds of others come to get involved with volunteering activities, including planting trees, installing pathways, picking up litter, collecting grass seeds and learning about bird conservation. Since January 2009, the project has benefited from over 800 days of volunteering. Laganscape also works closely with primary schools in the area, making their grounds more attractive to wildlife with minibeast mansions (structures that attract insects), bird boxes, ponds and trails.

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