Peartree Green Local Nature Reserve

Peartree Green is located near the historic Supermarine Factory, known for its production of seaplanes and the Spitfire. As a result, the Green has an interesting backstory. During World War 2, air attacks aimed at the factory caused major destruction of the houses on the Green and left significant bomb craters.

In a bid to reclaim the land, chalk from the construction of the M27 motorway during the 1970s was laid at the bottom of the Green, covering areas used for landfill in the previous decade, and this has created a unique habitat for several varieties of orchids and insects.

Careful management of the Green has encouraged plants and insects, rarely seen in other areas of the city, to thrive including the pyramidal orchid, marbled white butterfly and more recently the white letter hairstreak butterfly.

The site was designated a Local Nature Reserve in December 2017.

Images from Southampton City Council website.