Juanita Browne: Conference shines a light on how all local authorities can help wildlife
BEFORE: Yellow Flag Iris and Cow Parsley blanket this verge on a very straight stretch of road, offering a wildlife refuge amongst intensively farmed fields.
In 2019, Ireland declared a Biodiversity Emergency, acknowledging the dramatic species and habitat decline we are seeing in Ireland. With the imminent publication of the fourth National Biodiversity Action Plan, local authorities will soon have an even more important role in addressing our biodiversity crisis.
In managing planning, zoning, public parks, road verges and hedgerows, as well as funding community projects, there is huge potential for councils to make a real difference in creating public spaces that will be better for biodiversity as well as for local residents.
In recent years, local authorities have come a long way, especially through their partnership with the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan, and hopefully we can look forward to even better biodiversity actions from our councils. Many have reduced pesticide use and reduced mowing to encourage more natural meadow areas in public parks – which has a knock-on effect in changing public perceptions of longer grass in their own gardens.
There has also been a very positive shift away from expensive planting schemes that offer nothing to biodiversity and towards more sustainable, pollinator-friendly planting. There is also a growing recognition of the importance of planting native trees instead of automatically planting ornamental varieties in our towns and villages. These are all really positive changes.
Unfortunately, terrible examples of biodiversity-damaging land management aren’t difficult to find. Poorly managed roadside verges, inappropriate pesticide use, and massacred hedgerows are not unusual sights as you travel through many local authority areas.
No matter how good a County Biodiversity Action Plan may look, the most vital component has to be basic biodiversity training for staff on the ground – the actual people who hold the keys to the lawnmowers, strimmer, hedgecutters and the pesticide storage units.
I believe it’s vital that the staff on the ground are given the training needed to know what species they are looking at when they’re working, and that they understand the impacts for biodiversity of cutting/spraying, and of course, that they be given the power to make decisions, such as delaying management slightly or only cutting verges that affect sightlines for instance. Instead, it often looks like they are sent out and told to cut miles and miles of verges without any consideration of what’s growing there or whether indeed it needs to be cut at all for road safety.
I don’t like to think of myself as a ‘Karen’, but on one occasion, I felt compelled to stop and ask council staff why they were cutting a beautiful stand of yellow flag and cow parsley along a very straight verge (which I happened to photograph just days before), only to be told “it’s poisonous hogweed, we have to”.
Training staff to be able to distinguish the native hogweed from the invasive and harmful Giant Hogweed, and so that they can recognise yellow flag or cow parsley would be very straightforward. Likewise, training operators of hedgecutters in biodiversity-friendly hedgerow maintenance would be very doable. Even a small change, such as opting for a circular saw instead of a more damaging flail would go a long way towards protecting these valuable wildlife habitats.
A targeted biodiversity conference for local authorities – organised by Limerick City and County Council and the National Biodiversity Data Centre – aims to help local authorities around the country to address the biodiversity emergency. Covering broad themes such as transport infrastructure, community groups, public spaces and parks, green and blue ways, as well as climate action initiatives, this event offers a wonderful opportunity for staff to share knowledge across councils and to learn from successful projects.
Happening across two days, (Wednesday September 21 and Thursday, September 22) at the Strand Hotel, Limerick, the audience will also include other government agencies, non-government organisations, Tidy Towns groups, and interested members of the public.
One of the aims of this event is to highlight some examples of best national and international practice in public sector projects. One speaker, Gitty Korsuize, from Utrecht in the Netherlands, will speak about ‘How to Add Nature in a Densifying City’.
Another session that stands out as valuable is by Christine Doherty, from Derry City and Strabane District Council, on ‘Natural Capital Benefits of Actions for Pollinators’, which will include the added benefits in cutting labour and fuel costs through pollinator-friendly land management. Susan Vickers, Cluid Housing, will explain how biodiversity can be incorporated into guidelines for new developments.
Following a series of round table discussions and feedback from participants, a high level action plan will be produced on how local authorities can more effectively delivery biodiversity actions to address the Biodiversity Emergency.
It is wonderful to see local authorities becoming more aware of biodiversity. Let’s just hope this filters through to all staff, and that the roads, grounds and park staff are given all that they need – in both training and resources – to do their best for biodiversity.
To see the conference programme click here.
To book tickets, see: https://eventmaster.ie/event/ko4iK2TA2
