Friends of ECOS Ballymena

19/06/2026

We will be meeting tomorrow morning (20th) at 11.00 am, at the Sensory Garden (200m past the Slemish Market Garden, on the right hand side of the road, opposite the outdoor gym). This month's task will be clearing Himalayan Balsam. This is a very damaging invasive species. It crowds out native plants and weakens the river bank with its roots. Luckily it is quite easy to pull out by hand and this is the preferred method of dealing with it. You may also encounter nettles so long trousers, long sleeved tops/coats and gardening gloves are strongly recommended as are wellies after the recent heavy rain. Please take great care near the river as the banks can be very steep. Do not stretch out over the water to get that one plant which is just out of reach. We want to see you back again in one piece, especially any new volunteers who are very welcome!

15/06/2026

The meadow behind the Sensory Garden is resplendent with buttercups at present. You may need to hurry if you want to see it as this will soon be mown as part of the annual management of this particular ecosystem. It really does seem a shame but without mowing fast growing, coarse grasses will outcompete wildflowers. Soil fertility is reduced which works in favour of wildflowers over grasses and the landscape will gradually revert into dense thickets of scrub and brambles.

09/06/2026

27/05/2026

The British Trust for Ornithology at ECOS

The Friends of ECOS Bird Survey group joined in the BTO's Spring Birding Support event at ECOS this week.

We spent a most enjoyable hour and a half walking through the Nature Park with a friendly group of enthusiasts, skilfully guided by Jemma. We identified 27 species by sight and sound; signet and duckling on the water , Song Thrush, Bullfinch and Willow Warbler on the branch and Swallow, Swift and Sand Martin flitting overhead. The full list has been uploaded to BirdTrack.

26/05/2026

Volunteers at ECOS Nature Park in Ballymena say vandalism has destroyed children’s facilities, damaged Parkrun equipment and left broken glass scattered across the site.

25/05/2026

A small group of our volunteers set to. We tidied and cleared up as much as we could and carried out some repair work. Some will have to wait until our next work session on 20th June.

25/05/2026

This is the senseless destruction we discovered this morning. Is this what the community wants? The photographs don't show the amount of broken glass in the grass with associated potential injury to children, pets and wildlife. Parkrunners' equipment has also been damaged and spread over a wide area. The matter has been reported to the Police and M&EA Council.

19/05/2026

Some of our volunteers attended a plant Identification course today at ecos which they found very interesting and informative. As well as the variety of flora discovered they learned about the interdependancy of species in the park. An enjoyable day for all who were there in weather conditions which were better than expected!

06/05/2026

23/04/2026

Then they started to appear. Orange Tip, Red Admiral and Holly Blue together with a couple of Peacock butterflies flying overhead in a courtship display (unfortunately no photo).