Wiser Environment is backing the Plantlife road verge campaign – protecting UK wildlife. A significant proportion of the UK’s total flora grows along the roadside. However, pressure from council budget cuts and a desire for “tidy” verges is putting the roadside wildlife at risk. To back this worthy cause, Wiser is promoting actions that will allow the UK’s road verges to flourish.
cut less, cut later
Wildflowers growing from a felled tree trunk. Taken by P. Duggan.
The British conservation charity – Plantlife – works globally to protect wildflowers, plants and fungi. The charity is supported by over 11,000 members that include landowners, businesses, conservation organisations, community groups and governments. Their most notable supporters are the Prince of Wales’s Charitable Foundation and the Rees Jeffreys Road Fund. The Plantlife mission statement is to: “push boundaries to save our rarest flora and ensure familiar flowers and plants continue to thrive”.
Wiser Environment is continually seeking new ways to support organisations such as Plantlife. Promoting biodiversity and supporting the development of diverse habitats is a priority for Wiser. Reducing the intensity of road verge cutting, and removing clippings, will allow wildflowers to flourish and light up the landscape; creating a stepping stone for wildlife to blossom and migrate.
Another way to support the Plantlife cause is to foster a love for plants. As seen on World Environment Day, the gardens of the Wiser Environment team are full of diverse and colourful flowers. These microenvironments help pollinators pollinate and wildlife to be wild.
Sign the Plantlife road verge campaign petition
Wiser Environment encourages all those who seek to protect biodiversity to sign Plantlife’s petition. In their open letter, Plantlife argues for the adoption of simple but effective principles that will benefit the nature that grows alongside road verges. To support the petition, please visit Plantlife and sign their open letter.