HEDGEROWS
End mowing of road verges
to create huge wildlife habitat,
says UK study
There is a major concern that over managing our hedgerows will result in a considerable loss of valuable habitat for many creatures, from nesting birds, hibernating hedgehogs, dormice and other small mammals, to insects like beetles and butterflies. Hedgerows are so teeming with life that one study counted 2070 species in one 85 metre stretch. Even this was thought to be an underestimate.
The UK has lost 97% of its wildflower meadows since the 1930s
An articles worth a read
2 Responses
You are so right – the daily challenge of driving the back country rounds is not only stressful but dangerous and we are always grateful when the borders, at junctions, have been cut back especially at this time of the year.
Finding the correct balance is the race we are in before we have tipped the balance irrevocably.
Your suggestion for the planting of wildflowers alongside the edge of fields is, I believe, the way to go for in Denmark, the law requires large agricultural owners to plant 5% of their land for bees…
Whilst I do agree that the wildflowers would be a very good idea. The thought of pulling out of a junction, or going along these single track lanes with even less visibility, is a very frightening thought. The cars go so quickly down these very narrow, single track country lanes if there is something that can be done to help a car be seen from a further distance, I’m going to opt for it to help keep my family safe. My view is that the farmers quite often have a ” set aside” running along the edge of their field. Why not plant wildflowers on a wide track of that? Or just leav eit to grow wild naturally?