Ellis Meadows
Selected Wild Place / Other Wild Places / Public Rights of Way / VC55 boundary
The site is located adjacent to the River Soar and is best reached along the Riverside Walk/Sustrans cycle way on foot or by bicycle. If this is not possible, car parking is available at the nearby National Space Centre or Abbey Pumping Station (during events only). Access is off Corporation Road to these car parks with extremely limited parking on the road.
Public open space
Total species seen at this site:
Until 2015 this site was a piece of regularly mown amenity grassland which formed part of the former John Ellis School site (the school was demolished in the early 1990s).
The area was identified as part of a strategic flood alleviation scheme with works planned along the River Soar to improve flood storage during storm events. Fortunately both the Environment Agency and City Council sought to implement blue-green techniques for flood storage rather than rely on traditional engineering methods that could have resulted in high walls and hard infrastructure.
The site was designed to include a large and permanent area of open water, meadow areas, shrub and tree planting as well as retaining its mature White poplar and Crack willow trees along the boundary.
The Wild Place boundary for this site includes the adjacent River Soar and its footpaths.
The new habitat types were seeded with a mix of native neutral grassland wildflowers and the banks of the lakes were planted with native marginal plants to provide good diversity over a short period. Native tree and shrub planting has also provided additional habitat for birds.
The site is surprisingly species-rich considering the relatively short period it has had to establish. The open waters are a haven for dragonflies and damselflies. Common amphibians breed and freshwater molluscs and other invertebrates have colonised from the nearby watercourse and ponds. Little Egret, Grey Heron, Mute Swan and Mallard are regulars. Swifts and Swallows feed off the insects with bees, hoverflies and many other insects recorded here.
The records and images below may include those from adjacent sites if the grid reference submitted with these records overlaps the boundary of this Wild Place.
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