Silverknowes Woodland Walk and Lauriston Agroecology Project

The Silverknowes Community Woodland has been in existence for a while, but although I've often passed it, I've never before walked through it. The paths I followed yesterday look to be a fairly new development. There's an area of wildflower meadow with mown paths

In this area, there are plants such as Ox Eye Daisies and Tufted Vetch

The path then enters the woodland area 

then an area of open grass, with some sections fenced off for rewildling 

 and comes out the other end to a view over the Silverknowes Golf Course

and then I came to Lauriston Farm Agroecology Project, where I will be doing regular butterfly surveys for the Butterfly Conservation Trust over the next three months. 

The fields here are being developed as an agroecology project (now in its third year, I think). Some areas are being used for community growing, some are being left to become wildflower meadows and some are being planted with trees. There is a garden area too 

The butterfly surveys are intended to demonstrate how the agroecology project is improving the area for wildlife. You can read my wildlife observations of the project from last year here and from 2021 here.  Today's butterflies included a good number of Ringlets, a few Meadow Browns, a Red Admiral and a few Speckled Woods. A Reed Bunting was singing in a hedge, Jackdaws were chasing a Buzzard up above and a lot of Swifts were flying high in the sky.

 For Nature Notes.