East Caithness Community Campus | Wildflower Seeding for Wick Campus, Scotland

John Chambers Wildflower Seed was specified as part of the soft landscaping works delivered during phase two of the project. The landscaping contract was awarded to Ashlea Limited, one of the UK’s largest privately owned commercial landscaping contractors, working within the Morrison Construction supply chain.

Ashlea Limited has extensive experience delivering large-scale landscaping schemes across Scotland, including projects in both the central belt and the Highlands. For Wick Campus, the scope of works included wildflower seeding across the extensive grounds, with a focus on establishing robust, species-rich areas that would thrive in a demanding northern climate.

To meet the project requirements, Ashlea Limited worked with leading landscape supplier Green-tech, who supplied over 300kg of John Chambers Wildflower Seed. The specification included a specialist BREEAM species-rich lawn mix, selected to support sustainability targets while providing long-term visual and ecological value. In addition to seed supply, Green-tech provided associated landscaping materials including compost, tree stakes, cross bars, belting and blocks, ensuring a coordinated and efficient supply solution.

With more than 35 years of experience, John Chambers Wildflower Seed specialises in native British-produced wildflower seed for both rural and urban environments. All seed is sourced from long-established growers who adhere to strict collection standards. Each batch is hand-cleaned by a team of specially trained seed cleaners, a labour-intensive process that ensures only the highest quality seed is dispatched. This attention to detail helps deliver consistent establishment and strong performance, even in challenging climates and variable soil conditions.

Beyond standard mixes, the John Chambers team regularly works with landscape architects and ecologists to develop bespoke wildflower seed mixes tailored to specific project criteria. For Wick Campus, careful consideration was given to biodiversity objectives, geographic location, flowering periods and the long-term aspirations of the landscape design. This ensured the selected mix was both resilient and well suited to the exposed, wind-prone conditions typical of Caithness.

Despite being sown in May 2018 during an unusually dry period, the wildflower areas established successfully, demonstrating the quality of the seed and the suitability of the specification for the site.

The wildflower seeding at Wick Campus has delivered outstanding establishment and performance, particularly given the site’s northern location and exposure to constantly changing weather conditions and near-continuous winds. The flowering lawn has developed exceptionally well and has been recognised by the landscape contractor as one of the best establishments they have achieved.

The completed landscape enhances the overall appearance of the campus while contributing to biodiversity and sustainability goals. Species-rich wildflower areas provide valuable habitat for insects and pollinators, support seasonal interest throughout the year and reduce the reliance on intensive maintenance regimes associated with traditional amenity grass.

The success of the project highlights the importance of high-quality seed, appropriate species selection and close collaboration between contractors, suppliers and designers. It also demonstrates how wildflower seeding can play a crucial role in meeting BREEAM and sustainability objectives on large public-sector developments, even in challenging environmental conditions.