SAVING SPECIES ON OUR SITES

We sometimes receive grumbles about the greenspace in our care being “a wilderness”, “not properly managed”, “full of weeds”, “untidy” and similar complaints. One view occasionally expressed is that we are saving money by reducing management operations. That is incorrect because management to conserve and improve biodiversity involves more time, skill, verification and monitoring than the old and outmoded “shorn grass and lollipop trees” approach. The staggering amount of litter people leave on our land is also a severe problem. We clean it up every time we go, but why oh why can’t people have the decency to take their empty bottles, wrappers and cans home with them?!

Some residents also grumble that the greenspace is not managed in the way illustrated in the original estate plans submitted to planning offices. That is because they have been superseded by our Management Plans for Biodiversity which have also been lodged with the planners and reflect current policy and practice for protecting nature and creating habitats.

I know it is hard for some to understand that the old ways must change, but the state of nature in Britain is dire. The UK is now one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world[1] and we must reverse that shocking state of affairs. The RSPB says more than 40,000,000 birds have disappeared from the UK’s skies since 1970 and perhaps some of you have noticed the decline in insects. If you haven’t, ask yourself when you last had to clean the front numberplate of your car of squashed bugs.

The Natural History Museum has announced that one in six species in Britain is at risk of extinction.

We must work to reverse this catastrophic situation and that requires us to manage green spaces to provide habitats for diverse and healthy wildlife populations of fauna, flora and fungi. Mowing grass too early or so short that the grassland species do not flower and set seed, battering hedges into submission, constantly  removing “weeds” such as docks and nettles, removing dead wood, generally being too “tidy” and destroying the natural cycles of decomposition and decay are anathema to healthy ecosystems and the services they provide to us[2]. Other reasons for species decline include the cutting off of dead plant stems, clearing out compost piles, unnecessary paving and tarmac, the use of insecticides & fungicides. Destroying these habitats and killing the invertebrates and fungi that live there causes extinctions all up the food chain. The failure of owners to control dogs and especially cats from disturbing and killing wildlife is also a serious problem, as is fencing that stops hedgehogs and other small mammals foraging or, worse ensnares birds and other creatures.

I am sorry if it offends the feelings of those who want a manicured landscape, but I am going to fight for nature as I always have. “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” is a true saying and, if you take the time to look and get to know something about biodiversity, and marvel at nature allowed to be wilder, you will see the beauty.

Betts Ecology has published policies for the way we manage sites and habitats. You can download them from https://www.bettsecology.co.uk/policies. They do change from time to time, but the overriding theme is what we apply to help nature and stem the tide of species loss.

 © Betts Ecology

[1] Have a look at this link http://tiny.cc/07xvzz.

[2] If you want to know more about Ecosystem Services, you can download my paper What are ecosystem services? at https://www.bettsecology.co.uk/cjb-published-papers