26 February 2016
By Sam Page, Project Development Manager – Making a Buzz for the Coast
I’m writing this blog from the train on my way back from an interesting day out in Bristol. I’m not normally in that neck of the woods (it’s a bit of a trek from Brighton and Kent where I spend most of my time) – and I didn’t get to see much of Bristol itself – as I was there for a ‘Knowledge Exchange’ workshop on Managing urban grasslands for pollinators run by DEFRA (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) and the University of Bristol as part of the National Pollinator Strategy.
The workshop topic was of particular interest to me because, as part of the Making a Buzz for the Coast project the Bumblebee Conservation Trust is developing in Kent, we’ve identified a number of urban grassland sites where we’re hoping to work with councils and local communities to improve their value for rare bumblebees and other pollinators, and hopefully for local people too! So I was hoping to pick up a few ideas . . .
The workshop was well attended and attracted a range of people from different backgrounds including conservation charities, local authorities, developers, planners, policy makers and academic researchers. So why urban? Apparently 82% of the UK population lives in towns and cities, and urban habitats are increasing. Urban food production is also increasing, for which we of course need urban pollinators! Pollinators play a key role in any ecosystem, whether urban or rural. A couple of recent studies have shown how urban habitats can attract diverse pollinator communities – in a study in his home town of Northampton, Professor Jeff Ollerton and his PhD student Musafar Sirohi recorded over 60 bee species in just a 500m radius! The study included habitats such as small gardens, road verges and traffic islands. Different plants are important in different habitats. Did you know that dandelions are one of the most important forage plants in urban areas because they are visited by such a wide range of pollinators? Dandelions are often abundant on road verges (and many lawns!) so the effect of reducing cutting frequency in these habitats can be far-reaching for urban pollinators.
It was great hear about all the fantastic work already being delivered for pollinators in urban areas – whether at a grassroots community level, local authority led, or in planning and policy. There were some common themes running throughout the workshop, and also some common challenges. Public perception and local community engagement is key to the success of many urban pollinator initiatives. People often don’t like change in their local environment so it’s important to get the local community involved right from the beginning of the process and raise awareness about the benefits not only for pollinators but for people. Community champions and volunteers can play a really important role here so this is going to be a key part of our Making a Buzz for the Coast project in Kent.
Cost and resources is another key issue. Whether we like it or not, most local authorities and many other organisations are under such financial pressure these days that they are unlikely to want to (or be able to) do anything that increases their costs – so we have to find ways that are cost-saving or at least cost-neutral. I was interested to hear a talk from the head gardener at Bristol City Council where they have been carrying out various pollinator planting schemes across the city. It may seem simple to us when we ask our council to manage a verge or green space in a different way but it’s rarely that straightforward (especially when grounds maintenance is contracted out). In Bristol, the council operates over 20 different grass cutting regimes across its amenity sites, each with different cutting times and different machinery according to the needs of the site. We often think councils can save money by reducing cutting frequency and leaving grass or newly created meadow areas to flower and set seed – which seems like a win-win both for both pollinators and budgets – however the reality is that cutting long grass requires different machinery and this usually comes at an expense. Also, if we want a flowery grassland, it’s important to remove the cuttings (especially if the grass has been allowed to grow long) as leaving them in situ smothers wildflower seedlings and causes nutrient build-up in the soil which favours fast-growing grasses over wildflowers – so this too comes at extra expense (for machinery and transportation off site), not to mention the issue of where to dispose of the cuttings.
Which brings me nicely onto the issue of dog mess. We have this issue on one of the urban grassland sites we’re hoping to work with in Kent. It’s a great site with lots of potential to increase the floristic diversity for rare bees, butterflies and other pollinators. We’re trying to find a sustainable solution for managing the site long-term and one of the best ways to do this would be to find a local farmer who could take a hay cut at little or no cost in return for getting the hay. This can work really well in some areas and taking a hay cut can be one of the best ways to manage flower rich grasslands. However, the site is really well used by dog walkers who aren’t in the habit of picking up their dogs’ mess . . . and no farmer is going to want hay littered with dog poo and other rubbish. So we will need to work with the local community and council to reduce both the dog mess and litter before this option can be considered.
Long-term management of newly created habitats is a key challenge – whether it’s a wildflower area in a park, a roadside verge, an urban amenity site, or part of a new housing development. All too often projects are funded in the short-term, or rely on just one or two key people to get them started who then move on, and a few years later the habitat has deteriorated or even disappeared. At the workshop, we talked about needing both a bottom up and top down approach to this issue. The presence of community champions on the ground, a sense of ownership and local community interest in the site is vital. However, structures also need to be in place to ensure landowners and contractors continue managing habitats beneficially for pollinators and other wildlife into the future. This is one of the challenges we’re coming up against with Making a Buzz for the Coast. As part of the project, we want to help partners restore sites for pollinators – but our project will only last 3 years, so what happens after that? Our main funder – the Heritage Lottery Fund – quite rightly asks that we get landowners to sign up to an agreement which commits them to maintaining the newly created habitats for 10-20 years after the end of the project. This makes absolute sense from a funding and sustainability point of view, but some local authorities and small parish councils might struggle to sign up to such a long term commitment when they don’t know where their funding is coming from in years to come – so we really need to find sustainable solutions that councils feel able to sign up to in the long term.
I fear this article has come across as more negative than I intended, especially given all the fantastic pollinator initiatives I’ve been hearing about today which are proving to be really successful! The important point is, none of these issues are insurmountable – and this is what we must remember! But finding the right solution does require time, effort and often resources to create the change that’s needed – and most importantly it requires partnership working at all levels. There’s a great example of this in Kent, where Kent Wildlife Trust is working with the local Highways department to manage a number of fantastic roadside verges for wildlife – and to deal with issue of cuttings removal, they have engaged the local community and recruited volunteers who go and rake off the cuttings after it’s been mown, and in some cases they have also managed to team up with the local district or town council’s green waste disposal team who then collect and dispose of the cuttings. This is the kind of partnership working we’re hoping to achieve on some of our urban grassland sites as part of the Making a Buzz project, where we aim to get local people involved and work together with local communities, councils and other partner organisations to find the best outcome for both our pollinators and communities.
Making a Buzz for the Coast is a partnership project being developed along the Kent coast (and part of East Sussex) with support from the Heritage Lottery Fund. If you want to find out more about the project please follow this link: Making a Buzz for the Coast
