Welcome to The Park at East Harling, Norfolk, and to St. Andrew's Place in Melton, Suffolk. 

We're using these two sites for an urban wilding research project, working alongside urban designers Levitt Bernstein and ecological consultants Greengage. On these sites, we're looking at different ways of managing green space in the two communities. 

Watch the video below, with our Biodiversity and Land Manager Daniel Salliss and Director of Regeneration James Payne, to see what we’ve been up to on these two sites, what we hope to learn, and what actions we’ll be taking as a result.  

This project is part of Flagship’s Biodiversity Plan, and focuses on expanding the number of wildflower meadows we manage and evaluating how we manage these green spaces. Across these two sites, we’ve been managing the land in four different ways: intensive mowing, natural response (allowing areas to grow freely), wildflower meadows, and fully landscaping. 

This work has involved seeding wildflower meadows, building loggeries (log piles that create habitats for insects and other wildlife), mowing paths through our meadows, and installing signs and benches. The benches were sourced from a social enterprise company that helps people with disabilities into work, while a local landscaping firm was employed to plant the new shrubs.

Mr Salliss said these projects are a response to ecological risks - and the results are already very encouraging. 

He said: “We're concerned that nature is in trouble; an estimated 97% of wildflower meadow has been lost in this country in the last century, which affects people's health and wellbeing and threatens the array of plants and wildlife in our areas. 

“We need to take action to preserve and restore it, and we’ve seen some fantastic results so far from this project. We recorded 85 floral species across the two sites where previously only a handful existed, and we’ve seen a marked increase in the carbon storage capacity of the soil in just one year.”

Throughout the project, Flagship tenants and other residents have been involved in the works to ensure that their thoughts and feedback are part of the plans. 

Mr Payne said: “We’ve been making sure to spread awareness on biodiversity as well as consulting with tenants and residents, as well as holding in-person engagement events to listen to what they have to say about it.”

Since launching our biodiversity plan in April 2024, we've seen some really encouraging results across our communities. This includes planting 12,000 bulbs across Suffolk, Norfolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire in late 2024, and receiving the inaugural ‘biodiversity recognition plaque’ from Cromer Green Spaces for new wildflower meadows planted in the town.

Flagship aims to have meadows on most of its green space and manage 30% of its land for nature by 2030. To stay up to date on Flagship’s green initiatives, follow us on LinkedIn and Instagram, and for more information on the biodiversity scheme email biodiversity@flagship-housing.co.uk. Thanks to Trett Films for producing the video.