May meeting: Urban biodiversity presentation

At our May meeting, we welcomed Russell Parry and Lindsay-Anne, who had come to share their enthusiasm for wild plants (N.B. not ‘weeds’!) in urban areas. You can see their slides here and below is a brief summary of their presentation.

-------------------

Data from NatureSpot, a species recording website, shows that the highest levels of biodiversity in Leicestershire are found in the city and towns and the lowest in farmland. The pesticides and fertilisers used in agriculture are turning fields into green deserts, with very low diversity. Seeing plants and green places is essential to human health and happiness; many psychology studies have now demonstrated this.

There has been an alarming decline in insects over the past few decades. This is made very clear by the ‘windscreen phenomenon’ – car windscreens are no longer covered in squashed insects after long journeys. A German study found that there has been a 50% decline in insects in 20 years. Insects rely on wild plants for food and a place to lay their eggs. More wild plants = provide more habitat for insects.

Russell has conducted a bird survey along the same route in Birstall for the past 25 years. He finds that there is less species diversity and abundance on the golf course and more along the roads with gardens. More plants = more insects = more birds.

The City Council routinely sprays the pavements in Leicester with herbicide to kill all wild plants. In 2020, with the lockdowns, they only sprayed once. In that year and the following spring, there was an astonishing abundance of urban wild plants. But then they resumed spraying three times a year and the pavement wild plants have disappeared again. Lindsay-Anne saw a similar situation in Enderby. A recent article in the RSPB magazine concluded that the best way to deal with ‘weeds’ is to allow them to flourish.

The abundance of 2020 inspired Russell and Lindsay-Anne to start the StreetWild project. They planned to ask people to go 200 yards from their house and look for common plants. They would provide people with a guide to recognising five plants currently in flower every month. The Wildlife Trust and the City Council were interested in promoting this. However, when the pavement spraying resumed, the project had to be abandoned.

In 2020, Russell and Lindsay-Anne recorded 361 species of wild plant on 20 streets in Leicester and found a similar number when they surveyed unimproved natural habitat. Lindsay-Anne found Jersey Cudweed in Enderby, a schedule 8 plant (meaning it should not be touched) and the first record of this plant in Leicestershire. She reported it to the District Council, but when the spraying resumed, it was still sprayed.

The City Council’s Biodiversity Action Plan includes some excellent intentions, including: ‘We will make sure that local biodiversity thrives.’ However, they are not acting on these.

-------------------

This gave us some new ideas for how to progress our pesticides campaign!