LIFE ON THE VERGE
An abundant, wildlife-rich nature reserve larger than the Lake District – this could be the future for Britain’s roadside verges. All we need to do is mow them at the right time, says Alexandra Pearce-Broomhead
Our roadside verges could be abundant nature reserves, if we mow less often.
In September 2019, I watched as dozens of butterflies danced among the wildflowers in a patch measuring just a few square metres. Painted ladies, commas, red admirals and holly blues flitted between red campion, yarrow, nettle and sow thistle in the late evening sun.
But this wasn’t in a nature reserve; I was by a busy B-road and this small verge was supporting a plethora of life in an otherwise nature-barren landscape. Many of us speed past these havens – windows rolled up, eyes focused on the ribbon of asphalt ahead – without even realising they are there. But road verges can be a lifeline for Britain’s wildlife and the fight against biodiversity loss.
Since the Second World War, Britain has lost 97% of its wildflower meadows – that’s three million hectares, an area equivalent to the size of Devon, Norfolk, North Yorkshire, Cumbria and Kent combined. Intensive agriculture and poor management have been responsible for this loss.
That’s what makes Britain’s verges so important. They can provide a plant network and wildlife corridors
"Managed correctly these spaces could produce 400 billion more flowers"
that can be invaluable for thousands of species. It’s estimated that verges total 238,000 hectares – an area bigger than Lake District National Park – and can support over 700 species of wildflower, or nearly 45% of our total flora.
Managed correctly, with flourishing plants, these spaces could produce 400 billion more flowers, according to conservation charity Plantlife. The plants also act as important cover, allowing mammal and insect species to travel protected alongside our roads. Yet in the past two decades, research by Plantlife shows we have lost 20% of our roadside species, as years of neglect and a lack of understanding put these wildlife sanctuaries at risk. Now, environmental groups are campaigning to get these vital habitats restored.
DEATHLY TIDY
The main issue facing verges is mismanagement. Many verges are mowed too regularly due to a desire to be ‘neat and tidy’. This means we are killing plants before they have the opportunity to bloom and seed, as well as removing essential protection to animal species.
On the other hand, neglecting verges and not mowing at all means an area can become scrubland, dominated and overshadowed by woody plants. To achieve the rich mixture of wildflowers and grasses, verges need to be mowed at the right time. The cuttings must be removed in order to reduce nutrients within the soils, preventing fastgrowing grasses from dominating and leaving little space for other plants.
Plantlife began campaigning in 2013 to get better protection for Britain’s road verges and ensure they’re being managed correctly. “For decades, verges have been disregarded, considered as little more than scruffy, inconsequential ‘edgelands’ that flash by in the wing mirror as we speed ahead with our busy lives,” says Kate Petty, Plantlife’s road-verge campaign manager. But verges can be “magnificent mini-meadows”, she insists, providing a “lifeline” for many species. “They are the last remaining habitat for some incredibly rare flowers like wood calamint and fen ragwort, which appear nowhere else.”
Plantlife wants all verges to be managed for wildlife as a matter of course. The message is cut less and cut later, preferably delaying mowing until after late September and ceasing again in April.
Invertebrates charity Buglife is adding its voice to the verges campaign. Andrew Whitehouse, Buglife’s countries manager, recommends that parts of wider verges are left uncut for two to five years before being cut on rotation, allowing an overwintering habitat for invertebrates. “A huge number of species nest in dead plant stems, remaining there until the young
emerge the following year. If you cut that habitat away, you are removing the places where insects breed, complete their lifecycle or overwinter.”
COUNCILS COUNT
Plantlife has been reaching out to councils across the UK to encourage them to cut their verges less often and later. It has published guidelines to offer technical support, which are being endorsed by the Highways Agency and Natural England, as well as Kier Group, which builds and maintains roads. Councils around the country are at different stages of verge management, with some taking a little longer to adapt to the new guidelines.
One council that has really taken good verge management on board is Dorset. Its work managing around half of the county’s verges for wildlife has led to it winning the 2019 Local Government Chronicle award for best environmental services. Awards are not the only advantage; the council has saved more than £200,000 as a result of the changes – money that can be put into other environmentally beneficial projects.
All this indicates that the tide is turning. Previously, councils such as Dorset would receive requests from the public to cut verges to tidy them up, but these are becoming fewer, and Kate is encouraging the general public to join in. “Please sign our petition to add your voice locally,” she urges. “You can also write to your councillors; try to talk to the person who manages highways and transport and share Plantlife’s guidance with them.” The Plantlife petition has now gained 85,000 signatures from supporters. “Change is coming from the grassroots,” Kate says. “Increasingly, people recognise verges as wildlife havens and this shift in attitude, reflected in the huge support for our petition, means there’s an increasing appetite for ‘messier’ verges that provide better cover and food for wildlife.”