The work behind the wildflowers
Seeing streets, verges and parks blossom with wildflowers brings a beautiful simplicity to the beating heart of any city. But creating these spaces is far from simple, as those of us working in or alongside Local Authorities know. Here is a peek into Plymouth City Council’s (PCC) approach to accelerating this change.
The grounds team mapped all the green spaces in the city to both input into a new digital asset management system, being trialled for efficiency gains, and create a plan for new mowing regimes that allow more nature to thrive. By being involved in the mapping, alongside improved training, the grounds team are aware of their critical role; it’s not just about being a great grass-cutter but also managing habitats and providing places that enhance health and wellbeing. By investing in their workforce, PCC demonstrated their belief that lasting change requires more than team compliance; it needs the grounds team’s knowledge, skills and buy-in to troubleshoot new operational challenges. During Covid the new approach to mowing was embraced on social media but there is still work to be done to help us nature novices (most of the public at large), understand that a ‘messy’ gone-to-seed verge is actually doing its most important work. By balancing public amenity with more natural spaces, alongside ‘cues to care’ such as signage or mown edges, Plymouth City Council are gradually changing the conversation from inviting complaints to offering inspiring and practical information helping people engage with the change. Post pandemic, they are listening to intel on the ground from the public and tweaking the mowing regimes accordingly.
Cross-party support for changes ensures a legacy. And of course, PCC have utilised expertise to understand the nature benefit potential; tying that into thinking around green infrastructure (a natural grid in the city connecting nature together) and possibly linking into investment opportunities from upcoming changes to the law around biodiversity net gain. Last summer the FPA team facilitated some rapid prototyping of new fundraising methods. It revealed the public were willing to donate to the council directly towards more wildflowers in their city.
The diagram below illustrates some of stakeholders, changes and connections needed to make a difference. I think it underlines why FPA invests in teams and projects like this, who weave together significant operational change with strategic thinking and small-scale experiments. They scan the horizon for potential and seize unexpected opportunities. We are happy to have played a small part in speeding this journey towards Plymouth becoming a pollinators’ paradise.
By Tracy-Ann Smith, Account Manager, November 2021