Avenue Primary School
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- Kidney vetch
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- Work on the meadow
The wildlife area at the Avenue Primary School was created around 1980 on the former gardens of houses backing onto the school fields. Several environmental projects carried out by Avenue Primary School created a variety of habitats with considerable wildlife value, including a pond.
The nature area has been designated as a Site of Local Importance for nature conservation because the site contains an area of chalk grassland with cowslip (Primula veris), small scabious (Scabiosa columbaria), quaking-grass (Briza media), horseshoe vetch (Hippocrepis comosa) and kidney vetch (Anthyllis vulneraria) all thriving. This is one of the very few places in London where the nationally scarce small blue butterfly (Cupido minimus) can be found.
Plants in and around the pond include yellow flag (Iris pseudacorus), water lilies, rushes and Canadian pondweed (Elodea canadensis). Common newts, frogs, pond skaters, water boatman, great diving beetles and a variety of dragonflies and damselflies use the pond.
The main task for the SNCV in the nature area is to manage the chalk grassland. We carry out meadow cuts, create areas of bare ground and seed kidney vetch. The nature area is part of the Avenue Primary School grounds. As such the site is not open to the public, so the only way to visit it is currently on a SNCV task day.
Volunteer with us to protect this nature reserve in Sutton for generations to come.
