DESPITE having a dozen books with detailed photos of animals, birds, insects, butterflies and moths, trees, shrubs and flowers, I always seem to come across something that doesn’t quite match.
A riverside flower was the most recent case, its white petals looked like plenty of other flowers, but a distinctive green streak that ran down each frond ruled everything out.
Eventually the mystery was unexpectedly resolved when I got a copy of an innovative publication from Connswater Community Greenway (CCG), based in east Belfast. Three-cornered leek is an invader, introduced in the 1700s, which has become established and threatens our native spring flowers such as primroses and violets.
In a superbly presented publication ‘What’s Growing on the Greenway’, CCG have highlighted some of the species found along 9kms of parkland running through east Belfast following the Connswater, Knock and Loop rivers.
Detailed photos, maps and short and informative bites of information help walkers to identify the abundance of wild growth around them as they walk through this natural corridor running through an urban landscape.
My copy also had a packet of wildflower seeds taped to the inside cover, which have duly been planted.
Ivy, wild carrot, mountain ash, gorse, fern and even nettles and dandelions feature, as well as lesser-known species such as stonecrop, tufted vetch and marsh marigold. But there are also warnings of the dangers that invasive species such as the three-cornered leek and the dreaded Japanese knotweed which also grows along the Greenway, but in fenced-off areas in a bid to prevent its spread.
The Connswater Greenway was developed following s a £40 million investment by the EastSide Partnership and is being delivered in partnership with Belfast City Council. It is funded by the Big Lottery Fund, Belfast City Council and the Department for Social Development. The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development’s Rivers Agency worked in partnership with the CCG to deliver elements of the East Belfast Flood Alleviation Scheme which will help to reduce flooding in east Belfast.
Starting at CS Lewis Square, named after the novelist and with a series of Narnia-themed sculptures by artist Maurice Harron, the trails wend through the greenway and some of Belfast’s most iconic locations.
In his song Brown Eyed Girl, Van Morrison sings the line “going down to the hollow” and The Hollow can be found at the place where the the Knock and Loop Rivers merge to form the Connswater River.
Marsh-Wiggle Way was chosen as a name for the pathway connecting Orangefield Park to Braniel following a public vote. The path runs though wetland habitats and the name refers to frog-like creatures that inhabit the marshes of northern Narnia in CS Lewis’s The Silver Chair.
Climbing upwards into the wood-covered Cregagh Glen you come to Lisnabreeny Rath in the Castlereagh Hills with views over Belfast. In the spring the glen is covered with bluebells among mature sycamore, beech, Scots pine and ash.
As part of the heritage project 12 bridges now span the rivers along the greenway, named after people from the area or who made an impact on it. The James Ellis Bridge is named after the late east Belfast actor, best known for his roles in Z Cars and the Billy Plays. Sam Thompson Bridge is named after an east Belfast shipyard worker and playwright. While Grace Bannister Bridge is named after the first female lord mayor of Belfast.
You can find out more about the greenway at connswatergreenway.co.uk or keep up with events by searching for Connswater Community Greenway on Facebook or following @ConnsGreenway on Twitter.
