Powys Green Guide - Verges for Nature

Verges for Nature
Contact: Rolly Bea

5 The Terrace, Norton, Presteigne, Powys
PRESTEIGNE and NORTON LD8 2EL and LD8 2AT

Verges for Nature

In PRESTEIGNE and NORTON - keeping the 'Wild in Wildflower'

We can make road verges, parks & other green spaces more wildlife friendly. Having lost 97% of Wildflower Meadows in the UK, there is a growing awareness of the importance of roadside verges in increasing biodiversity.

Over 700 species of wildflowers grow on these verges around the country, providing a valuable source of pollen & nectar. Flowers & longer grasses are a vital refuge & food source for bees & butterflies, bugs & slow worms, bats & small mammals.

Verges provide a network of green corridors, linking hedgerows, woods & trees. Wildlife can move more freely & safely, finding food, shelter & hibernation sites.

Local Action

2019

Summer: Common spotted orchids had appeared on a bank alongside the bypass after cutting regimes were changed from 4x to 3x a year! This focused discussions between residents & local councillors on the importance of wildflowers & biodiversity. As Powys County Council owns & is responsible for urban & rural verges, links were made to see if only one late cut could be made on the verges with the most potential.

2020

Spring: Verges monitored for different species,handpainted signs used as indicators & to raise local interest. A leaflet produced & available to schools & public for ID of the 20 most prolific flowers. Volunteers raked up & removed all the mown grass (arisings) after the last cut on these particular verges. These arisings if left mulch the ground, providing nutrition, making the grass grow more strongly, suppressing flower growth. NB wildflowers like poor soil to grow best in !

2021

The local council agreed to include Norton in the scheme. Some banks & verges were showing a good variety, but cut too early to thrive. Overall more species were surviving. The county recorder for East Radnorshire began to visit & document her findings. One pyramidal orchid had appeared. Yellow rattle seed was sown on some verges. This plant reduces the vigour of the tougher grasses, allowing more light in, for flowers to grow.

2022

Yellow rattle plugs funded through town council planted out on verges with the most potential. Some seed sown had taken the previous year, plants give a head start & extra coverage. Orchids appeared in other places, as well more other species. During the removal of the arisings frogs & slow worms were found to be using these areas. A first recording for Radnorshire of Pellitory on the Wall was made in one of the central Presteigne streets.

2023

The new PCC highways Cut & Collect machine was used to mow the flatter verges in this scheme. Arisings were taken to the corner of a nearby amenity meadow. Volunteer time and effort greatly reduced and the machine is much more effective than the usual mowers. First recording in Radnorshire for Wild Basil on a bank near secondary school. Change of overall management of verges to PCC & announcement that all verges to be reduced to 2 cuts per year, except for safety cuts. Designated verges in the scheme to still only be cut once a year.

2024

Climatic conditions caused a lot of grass growth. Volunteedscraked arisings from the banks otherwise cut & collect machine used. The Wild Basil flowered well & Pellitory of the Wall has crossed the road! PCC highways designated 23 sites of/for wildflower verges, named 'Urban Verges'. Those in Presteigne and elsewhere accessible to use of a seed planting machine, sown with yellow rattle seed in Oct/November.

A wider area than previously sown through volunteers by hand.

County Action

Initially PCC Highways being responsible for mowing & keeping roads safe for visibility, liaised with the local & county councillors and Verges for Nature volunteers about how to manage the verges. Powys also has many rural verges for wildlife: Roadside Verge Nature Reserves (RVNR) These too have a different mowing regime where wildflowers are encouraged to grow.

23 sites around Powys have now also been designated 'Urban Verges' including those in Presteigne Verges for Nature are tending.

Welsh Government Action

A new campaign this 2022: ITS FOR THEM 'Changing Mowing to Save Wildlife'.

We are in a Nature Emergency' 1 in 6 species assessed in Wales are at risk of extiction

We are making changes to the mowing regimes; it's about saving wildlife not about reducing costs.

We need to act now to save them'

The scheme recognises the benefit to plants, invertebrates, small mammals, amphibians, reptiles and birds, humans & the planet!

There are other benefits of less cutting; improved capacity of the soil to absorb water, reduced run off from slopes & greater absorption of traffic pollutants & feel good factor/wellbeing for people.