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Did you know peatlands are being destroyed to grow lots of the food in our homes? We want to change this!
We’re in a race against time to save fungi.
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Become a Plantlife member today and together we will secure a world rich in plants and fungi
Our drive to empower and support local authorities to change the way they manage road verges took a significant step forward during the year when the project expanded its remit.
Our ongoing campaign to create a wildflower-rich network for nature by changing the way road verges are managed expanded during 2022/23 to include parks, cemeteries, sports fields, public gardens and all the grassy greenspaces in between.
Led by Plantlife, the initiative encourages local authorities to cut less and cut later, in turn creating diverse wildlife havens where plants and animals can thrive.
It aims to bring about a systematic change in the management of thousands of miles of road verges and greenspaces. As well as cutting emissions and improving carbon storage, this will also save public money by reducing maintenance costs.
During the year, we directly supported 5 new local authorities to adopt best practice. They have transformed their management strategies for road verges and greenspaces as a result, which is already benefitting the environment.
The campaign continued to gather such momentum that we recruited a new intern to our team in November to help us respond to a growing number of enquiries.
We also spread our “managed messiness” message more widely by attending 13 high profile conferences and seminars. These events paved the way for us to build relationships with industry leaders and spark broader conversations around finding sustainable ways to transform our greenspaces.
Hosted by organisations such as Highways UK and the Chartered Institute of Highways and Transport, they also gave us a chance to promote opportunities for collaboration between researchers and practitioners.
In addition to raising awareness, we are also working with partners to find innovative new ways to manage green waste using advances in biotechnology. This could see processes such as anaerobic digestion used to transform grass cuttings into heat, power, biofuel, fertiliser, peat replacement and bio-based construction materials so that it can be reused with minimal environmental impact.
Developing such bio-based circular economies gives us an exciting opportunity to help fund nature’s recovery while also reducing carbon emissions. These innovations also open the door for local authorities to begin seeing wildflower-rich greenspaces as an asset capable of paying for their own management.
Emily SeeHighways Market Director, Amey and Chair of LGTAG Highway and Infrastructure BoardSpeaking at LGTAG Presidential Conference in June 2022
Stephen ElderkinDirector of Environmental Sustainability at National Highways Speaking at The Bigg Buzz National Pollinator Conference Sep 2022
Jon MunslowPresident of Local Government Technical Advisory Group (LGTAG)
Plantlife is working with Velcourt to explore how nature restoration can be integrated alongside production to support sustainable farming businesses.
Plantlife has been at the forefront of sustainable agriculture, working directly with farmers, calling on policymakers to support farmers in making sustainable choices and producing guidance.
We’re using the introduction of Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRS) to advocate for wild plants and fungi and their protection.
