Talking
point
created an impressive 275 hectares of
wildlife habitat across 973 green spaces
in eight Welsh and English cities.
A YouGov poll by Buglife and Friends
of the Earth revealed that 92 per cent of
British people wanted councils to plant
more wildflowers for pollinators in parks
and other green spaces, 81 per cent wanted
councils to help bees by reducing mowing.
Urban pollinators researcher Dr
Katherine Baldock said: “There is huge
variation in how they are managed. This
has implications for how beneficial they
are for pollinators and other wildlife. Parks,
road verges and other amenity grassland
areas have potential to be good if mown
less frequently. There are some great
examples across the country where this has
been done, but this approach needs to be
carried out more widely in order to create
connected networks of good quality habitat
for species to thrive.”S
hort turf is a historical relic,
handed down as a centuries-
old tradition from times when
lawns were an expensive, labour-
intensive fashion among the
upper classes – later becoming a wider,
aspirational status symbol after Edwin
Beard Budding invented the lawn mower in- And though the Victorians introduced
thousands of parks to create green lungs
for city workers, their short ‘look’ – with
optional stripes – has prevailed like a
terrible hangover. The appearance is even
replicated in plastic and some lawn lovers
spray paint their scorched, yellowing turf.
Professor of ecology Jane Memmott said
mowing less would save councils money and
green spaces would look “less like a billiard
table and more like a floral tapestry”.
These bright-green carpets are often
achieved with chemical fertilisers,
herbicides or pesticides combined with
turfing or monoculture grass re-seeding,
which reduces soil and plant fauna as
well as floral diversity. In contrast, a more
natural grassland has a greater diversity
of grasses and wild herbs, complete with
deeper roots, and these feed or shelter a
wider array of insects, birds, mammals,
reptiles and amphibians. Less intensively
managed green spaces also cut pollution
emissions, store more carbon, conserve
more water and save labour and funding.
The short-lived, exotic horticultural
beds favoured in some parks have high
environmental costs, too – such as frequent
watering, use of peat, transport, labour,
pollution, carbon emissions – and many are
less valuable to pollinators than those that
champion British species.
The National Federation of Parks and
Green Spaces has warned of long-term
damage to parks and their wildlife after
years of budget cuts. Yet research by The
City of Edinburgh Council showed parks
can return £12 in social, environmental and
economic benefits for every £1 invested in
them. Meanwhile, studies at the University
of Derby have shown that closeness
to nature, including wildlife in parks,
enhances human health and well-being,
and improves wildlife conservation (as
people feel more connected to nature).
Rob Acton-Campbell, Chair of Bristol
and Bath Parks Foundation, said: “I wouldlike to see a review of all parks, with an
aim that hay cuts or rewilding should be
the default unless the area is needed for
another purpose. All areas need to be
properly managed with the timing of cuts
considered and sufficient funding.”
Elsewhere, community groups have been
fighting hard to protect and wild-up shared
spaces. Blackpool Open Green Spaces
campaigners have been resisting the selling
of public green spaces, golf courses and
parkland for development. The town has
one of the lowest green space percentages
in the country and the lowest tree count for
any town in England.
In London, Lucy Neal, co-founder of
London National Park City, is one of many
residents calling on councils to help bring
more wildlife into the capital’s 3,000
parks and green spaces: “Fishponds Fields
is 10 acres in Tooting offering a densely
populated town centre an opportunity
for reimagining green space for nature
connection, increased biodiversity and
rewilding,” she said. “Here, there are very
few green spaces within walking distance
of many families.
“I hope, one day, we will hear bees
buzzing, see butterflies, grasshoppers,
bats, moths, owls, fruit orchards, vegetable
growing, children playing and a lively,
diverse community gathering. We can
make the land work for everyone and
every living thing.”E
ven a croquet lawn can be
managed sympathetically. At
Chastleton House and Garden in
Oxfordshire, the National Trust
says no fertilisers or herbicides
are used, and dandelions, daisies and
fairy rings are seen. “Croquet players have
learnt to overcome its bouncy nature, and
a green woodpecker is often seen feeding
on the ants,” says the National Trust’s Sian
Thomas. “Surrounding grass has longer
meadow areas, not cut until summer to
support more diverse wildlife.”
Britain’s 3,000 golf clubs – covering
125,000 hectares of green space – are“ Many golf clubs
have introduced
the idea of
ecological rough
areas, managed
to enable local
ora and fauna
to ourish and
vital for rare
invertebrates.”