Work has started on a four year programme of habitat improvement works on the site of a former colliery.

Trees in the woodland at Kinneil Nature Reserve in Bo’ness are to be pruned and thinned and large areas of grass that are currently cut short are to be allowed to develop into wildflower meadows. The site was previously occupied by Kinneil Colliery, which closed in the 1980s, and other industrial buildings.

The new works have been co-ordinated by Falkirk Council and the charity The Friends of Kinneil. They are being carried out as part of the Inner Forth Landscape Initiative and are being funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, Falkirk Environment Trust and Falkirk Council.

Councillor Adrian Mahoney, Falkirk Council’s spokesman for Culture, Leisure and Tourism, said: “The woodland in the reserve was planted in the 1980’s on spoil material from Kinneil Colliery. Since then the trees have grown well but now need to be thinned so those that remain have more space to grow. The site is also very exposed and some of the larger trees, particularly the pine, are beginning to blow over.

“Over the next four years trees in eight different areas are to be coppiced to encourage smaller, multi-stemmed trees to grow. These will be more resistant to being blown over. In the most exposed areas the pine trees will be felled and the timber left to decay. This will provide a home for fungi and insects that live in rotting wood.”

Once the trees have been felled woodland shrubs and wildflowers will be planted by volunteers from the foreshore group which is part of The Friends of Kinneil to provide food and nesting sites for birds and mammals.

Wildflower meadows will also be developed close to Snab Lane and Corbiehall – a short distance from the line of the Bo’ness and Kinneil Railway which runs through the site.

A pilot project over the last two years has shown that if these areas are left uncut there are already enough wildflower species present to produce meadows that will attract a wide range of insects, particularly bees.

The grass in these areas will be cut once a year and the cuttings baled and removed off site. These meadows will be the largest areas of grassland managed for wildlife in the Falkirk area.

Councillor Mahoney added: “We are grateful to our partners at the Inner Forth Landscape Initiative – funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund – and Falkirk Environment Trust for backing this project.”

You can learn more about the Inner Forth Landscape Initiative, and other projects it is supporting locally

Find out more about Kinneil Nature Reserve at their website.