Edinburgh Living Landscape

Nature in your neighbourhood

The Edinburgh Living Landscape is a partnership project between the Scottish Wildlife Trust, City of Edinburgh Council, Edinburgh & Lothians Greenspace Trust, and Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. It is made up of a range of projects that will create, restore and connect green areas of the city to make attractive and biodiverse landscapes that are enjoyed by residents and visitors. It is a partnership project that creates, restores and connects green areas of the city to make attractive and biodiverse landscapes. Landscapes will be healthy, nature rich and resilient to climate change.Landscapes will be healthy, nature rich and resilient to climate change. Other organisations are also lending support to the initiative, including Edinburgh University, SEPA, the Cockburn Association, and the OPENspace Research Centre.

What is a Living Landscape?

The Edinburgh Living Landscape initiative introduces a variety of changes to our outdoor spaces, including:

  • creating annual and perennial meadows 
  • reducing how often some areas of grass are cut and allowing natural grassland to thrive
  • mowing pathways through areas of longer grass so they can still be explored and enjoyed
  • planting trees and creating woodlands
  • increasing our use of herbaceous perennial planting
  • planting bulbs.

Benefits of Living Landscapes

Allowing grassland habitats to develop in a more natural manner in urban settings by reducing grass cutting or sowing flowering plants offers

  • increased biodiversity as birds, mammals and insects are attracted to wilder or more natural areas
  • reduced costs of maintained areas of grassland
  • higher abundance of flowers bring more resources for pollinators
  • added colour to the cityscape as we plant flowering species
  • less regular cutting slows rainwater run-off and helps lock-up carbon in soils, reducing CO2 release.

Partners

  • The City of Edinburgh Council
  • Scottish Wildlife Trust
  • Edinburgh and Lothians Greenspace Trust
  • Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
  • University of Edinburgh
  • Butterfly Conservation Scotland
  • RSPB
  • NatureScot

The Living Landscape programme so far

Edinburgh Living Landscape is part of Edinburgh Nature Network (ENN), a long-term strategic approach dedicated to managing, restoring and enhancing the urban landscape of Edinburgh. 

So far, changes have included

  • the creation of floral meadows
  • a reduction in grass cutting
  • pathways mown through areas of longer grass
  • more trees planted in urban areas and parks
  • an increase in herbaceous perennial planting.

The project focuses on areas often overlooked for recreational purpose and are labour intensive to maintain. These include steep banks, areas under trees, small fenced-off spaces, and large, seldom-used areas, often referred to as ‘green deserts’. Identifying these spaces involves collaboration between local grounds maintenance teams and residents through Neighbourhood Partnership meetings.

Reducing the frequency of grass cutting in these areas allows our teams to allocate more resources towards caring for shrubs, flower beds, hedges, and other greenery that require attention. Moreover, we are investing in better machinery and providing staff training to ensure these green spaces remain attractive and beneficial for wildlife.

These areas will not be neglected. Our dedicated local grounds teams will continue to monitor and maintain each site, conducting regular litter picking and weed control to uphold cleanliness and aesthetics. Some areas will receive more frequent cutting to ensure they remain visually appealing, while pathways will be carefully mown through longer grass to maintain accessibility.

Concerns about litter and dog fouling in longer grass are addressed through our commitment to maintaining all sites to current standards. Residents are encouraged to report any issues to their locality team for prompt resolution, with environmental wardens available to address concerns and enforce regulations regarding littering and pet waste.

For more information on Edinburgh Living Landscape and our ongoing projects, please visit:

As of 2024 we are trialing an adapted mowing regime in residential grassland plots. In partnership with University of Edinburgh and drawing from the principles established by the Living Landscape project, we will evaluate the impact to our pollinators species and biodiversity.

Contact Us

For any enquiries, please contact:

 

 

 

 

Edinburgh Living Landscapes

If you have a suggestion for a new Living Landscape site or have any comments regarding existing sites please email us