Celebrating wildlife within our verges
Have you seen any of the signs near you?
If you spot a hedgehog, please know we are keeping an eye on the amount of litter in this area.
If you spot a bumblebee, this is an area where we are leaving verges long to encourage wildflowers.
If you spot a mouse, this is an area where grass is kept long for habitats and food.
If you spot a grass snake, this is an area where grass is cut and left in piles for animals to use as habitats.
Roadside Revolution
In Dorset the team use a cut and collect method to encourage wildflowers. The process is simple: cut infrequently, ideally, just twice a year in spring and then late summer once plants have bloomed and seeded; remove the clippings to gradually reduce the fertility of the soil and prevent a buildup of mulch; repeat, wait, and enjoy the resurgent wildlife and flowers.
Pollinator Action Plan
Many plants rely on insects to pollinate their flowers. However, pollinators such as bees, hoverflies, butterflies and moths are in decline. Pressures such as habitat loss and degradation, pests and diseases, pesticide use and climate change individually and in combination are having negative impacts on populations.
The Pollinator Action Plan has been created by the Environmental Advice Team within Dorset Council. Bee sure to take a look!
Litter & Fly Tipping
Litter isn’t just unsightly and dangerous for the environment; it is also expensive to clean up. In the UK the actual cost for Local Authorities of clearing up between 2016 to 2017 is £682 million or £29 per household. On average the RSPCA receive 14 calls a day about animals affected by litter. As pet owners go directly to vets, and many injured wild animals are never found, it’s estimated that the actual figure of animals injured by litter is much higher than we currently know.
Character designs by Claire Nuttall – Animation by Gordon Langley
