A ‘living green wall’ is set to be planted in Liverpool city centre this weekend to bring a splash of colour to the area.
Staff at St John’s Shopping Centre are doing their bit for the environment by planting various types of evergreen plants and flowers along a 50 square metre wall.
The installation, which will be the largest green wall planted in the UK this year, will be visible from Queen’s Square Bus Station and the footpaths around the precinct.
The EU Horizon project is funding the wall through its ‘Urban GreenUP’ programme. Liverpool has been awarded £3.5million of funding for various projects across the city in order to tackle environmental issues.
As well as being visually appealing, the green wall will have many health and environmental benefits. Neil Ashcroft, Centre manager of St John’s shopping centre told JMU Journalism: “It will make this part of the city look healthier and fresher and also it has that effect on people’s health and well-being.”
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At @StJohnsShopping speaking to Centre Manager Neil about the new green wall which is being put up this month??@JMUJournalism pic.twitter.com/tjXtik5tBc
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Some of the plants that will be on the green wall are pollinators, which will help with the population of bees and will improve the air quality around the shopping centre.
Although Liverpool has many large parks and green spaces, there is a lack of these in the city centre. St. John’s green wall is a starting point to making more efficient green spaces available.
Liverpool’s Urban GreenUP project is set to run for five years and will involves organisations such as The Mersey Forest and Liverpool BID Company.
Clare Olver from The Mersey Forest Team said: “The green wall will be good for air quality, biodiversity, adapting to climate change and for businesses. There is good evidence that greener areas attract more footfall.”