🌿 Nature Thrives at Mud Island Community Garden! 🌿

A recent biodiversity survey by SETU Waterford student and Mudisland neighbour Sally Parsley reveals that the verges around Mud Island Community Garden are buzzing with life!

✅ 18 plant species identified
✅ 83% are native & pollinator-friendly
✅ 5 top pollinator plants spotted (including Common knapweed & Creeping buttercup)

🌱 Grasses dominate the area, but wildflowers like Wild Rocket and Ox-eye Daisy add color and food for pollinators. However, no threatened species were found and two invasive plants (Japanese Knotweed & Butterfly Bush – the traitor!) need our attention.

🐦 Bird bonus: 20 species recorded in and around the garden, including Robins, Blackbirds, and the threatened House Sparrow. This urban green space is a true wildlife haven.

💡 What can you do?
✔ Plant pollinator-friendly flowers
✔ Help remove invasive species (Note from Sally: ‘some cultivars now don’t spread their seed and buddleia davidii can be managed by cutting back hard after flowering so the seeds don’t set’)
✔ Share your wildlife sightings

Together, we can keep North Strand blooming for bees, birds, and biodiversity! 🌸🐝

📚 Source: Biodiversity survey of flora in the verges of Mud Island Community Garden, 4th Dec 2025, by Sally Parsley, SETU Waterford. Available HERE.