Destination Green researched, designed and installed interpretation panels across the Dearne Valley at eight railway stations: Elsecar; Wombwell; Swinton; Bolton Upon Dearne; Conisbrough; Mexborough; Thurnscoe and Goldthorpe. Each encourages passengers to explore heritage near to the station, uses information from wildlife surveys to reveal surprising wildlife that call the station home and empowers local people to care for their station.
What has the Project achieved?
- 24 hours of expert field visits to record wildlife at Dearne Valley stations; many of which had never been surveyed before
- An ‘Insects and other Invertebrates found at Dearne Valley Railway Stations 2018’ Survey report produced by Sorby Invertebrates Group
- 578 biological records submitted to Barnsley Local Authority Record Centre, will inform a national picture of species and habitat distribution across Britain
- 1,142,234 passengers annually use the 8 stations where the panels will be (figures from Northern by Arriva)
The Dearne Valley Landscape Partnership collaborated with Northern Rail, Network Rail and community partners, including Sorby Natural History Society and Mexborough Local History Society.
A Track-side Opportunity
The Dearne Valley is well connected by rail which means it is a great place to explore by train. Northern – the local rail operator – wanted to highlight railways as an environmentally friendly way to visit local attractions and for stations to be at the heart of communities. When Liane Holdsworth, then a Dearne Valley Landscape Partnership Community Officer, approached Northern about using stations to ‘Signpost the Dearne’ they were enthusiastic because it complemented their environmental and community aims. The DVLP and Northern organised a Station Adoption Seminar attended by 30 people.
Getting the community ‘on board’
As well as promoting sustainable travel, Northern wanted stations to be at the heart of the community. The Dearne Valley Landscape Partnership helped with the research for the panels.
Dearne Valley Landscape Partnership Community Officers worked with Local Authority Archives and local history groups to source images and stories. Northern funded the panels and the Partnership identified the best location for them in each station.
Revealing the station’s green assets
The Dearne Valley Landscape Partnership co-ordinated 3 hour field visits at each station by Sorby Natural History Society naturalists. Volunteers recorded plant, animal and insect life. Northern worked with Network Rail to give access to areas of green space around the stations for wildlife recording, most of which had never been surveyed before.
Derek Whitley of Sorby Invertebrate Group (SIG) believes that participants were receptive to improvement ideas like planting wild flowers and putting out dead wood for a bug hotel – small changes can make a difference. The idea that passengers waiting for trains could enjoy bees buzzing around wild flowers as much as a formal flower bed was also promoted.
The data collected helped Northern highlight the environmental value of stations for biodiversity. Railway line tracks can be ‘wildlife corridors’ connecting habitats and providing fuel stop offs for pollinators.
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Richard Isaac, Northern’s Eastern Region’s Community and Sustainability Manager) commented:
The DVLP have done some fantastic work and it will have a big impact. The learning from these eight stations will be shared with vegetation management teams from Network Rail across the North.’
Derek Whitely from Sorby Invertebrates Group recording invertebrates at Mexborough Station.
‘Stations are not sexy… it was not an easy sell getting volunteers to engage with the surveys, but when they did, the volunteers were surprised by some unexpected wildlife discoveries.’
Mary and Jane from Sorby Invertebrate Group survey Mexborough station
