In Norfolk, Salhouse railway station is “alive with birds, bees and butterflies” after volunteers planted wildflowers there earlier this year.
The station has been ‘adopted' by Chris and Sally Dady who built there home on the site of the station master's house. They have been busy restoring the gardens and looking after the platform planters.
Greater Anglia sent them wildflower seeds back in the spring as part of the train operators aim to increase biodiversity at their railway stations.
Sally Dady commented: “Some work had been done at the station earlier this year and left some bare areas of earth, which we thought would suit some wildflower planting and we were really pleased with the result, which looked lovely and has further helped to support the wildlife we already have here.
“We even installed a pump in the old well in the garden to help keep the flowers watered and as a result, the platform and our adjacent garden has been alive with birds, bees, butterflies, hoverflies, ladybirds, moths and all sorts of other insects who have come to enjoy the flowers.”
Greater Anglia's Customer and Community Engagement Manager, Alan Neville, said: “Thanks to the care and attention of our team of station adopters, we have thousands upon thousands of plants thriving at our rail stations which helps not only to make them more welcoming but are benefiting the environment too.
“Many of these gardens have been designed to be wildlife friendly, enhancing biodiversity and providing food, shelter and breeding places for many different types of wildlife.
“Some of them – like Salhouse – are becoming really magical places as a result, helping to support wildlife and benefiting their communities by helping to improve the local environment and existing more harmoniously with their rural surroundings.
“We are very grateful to Chris and Sally for the amazing work they've done.”
“This is all helping the railway in East Anglia to lead the green revolution by being a much greener way to travel – and our new fleet of trains will contribute even more thanks to their more environmentally friendly features which reduce CO2 and particulate emissions in the region further still.”
The Greater Anglia team of station adopters have been busy caring for gardens at stations across the network. An area the size of 29 tennis courts is now looked after by adopters.
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Very nice. Well done Greater Anglia.