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Belfast's Green Lung Under Threat!
17 Apr
Summary
- Urban field provides flood protection and carbon research.
- Community garden grows vegetables and social networks.
- Council debates converting field into a sports pitch.
Lower Botanic Gardens in Belfast is home to a precious field that serves multiple critical functions. This council-owned land, recently rewilded, acts as a natural sponge, offering vital flood protection for the city built on estuarine clay. It also supports a community garden, revitalized through a post-pandemic collaboration, which grows vegetables and strengthens local social and skills networks.
Furthermore, the field hosts university research focused on enhancing carbon sequestration in crops and soil. The restored floodplain meadow, with its native grasses and flowers, mimics natural grazing to promote biodiversity. However, this invaluable green space now faces an uncertain future as Belfast City Council debates its conversion into a sports pitch, a proposal viewed with significant concern by those who value its current contributions.
