One of the capital’s largest areas of wildflower meadow creation is taking place in Avery Hill park.

Working with the Butterfly Conservation charity, the park’s Friends group and the council’s Parks department are transforming more than two acres of grassland into a haven for wildlife.

The area, on the west side of the park, will be criss-crossed with paths to enable parks visitors to enjoy the flowers as they develop over next summer.

It is one of a series of environmental improvements being promoted by the park’s friends group including planting of thousands of trees, creation of hedgerows and digging new ponds.

Butterfly Conservation have provided funds to ‘scarify’ the surface of the grassland and a large quantity of meadow grass and wildflower seeds for volunteers to sow by hand this autumn.

Among the species being sown are knapweed, daisies, bird’s foot trefoil and scabious.

The project is part of the Big City Butterflies initiative which is aimed at connecting Londoners to their local environments and promote habitat for a variety of species of moths and butterflies. Butterfly Conservation are being sponsored by the National Heritage Lottery fund to deliver the project.

Conservation Officer Steve Bolton told SEnine, “This is one of the biggest sites we’re working on and it should provide an invaluable habitat for a range of species to flourish.

“As well as providing habitat, it enables the public to enjoy nature at close hand on their daily walks in the park,” he added.

Butterfly species expected to benefit are the blues, skippers, meadow brown and gatekeeper, as well as stag beetles and bats which live off insects.

The Friends group’s conservation co-ordinator Trevor Davies said, “We’re grateful for the support of Butterfly Conservation who have made this possible. It enables the further development the park as a major wildlife resource and amenity for the local community.”

The group will be monitoring the number of species in the park and the success of the initiative over the coming year before considering further expansion into adjacent parts of the park.

The parks department has been reducing the mowing of its parks and verges in recent years in response to the demands of the environment and to reduce costs.

Wildflower areas already exist in Sutcliffe Park and at Oxleas Meadows and further patches at hotel field in Oxleas Woods and in Eltham Park North.