It's not too late to avoid a litany of missed opportunities to look after wildlife habitats
Anja Murray: "Not only do herbicides wipe out the weeds and wildflowers that some consider unsightly, but they also damage bees, butterflies and hoverflies."
Finally, the warmth of spring sunshine makes spending time in parks and gardens appealing once again.
At the weekend I visited a town park, somewhere in the middle of Munster, which is clearly well used and loved by locals. It has a river running through it, nice lawns and a few mature trees and picnic benches. A sign beside the river informs that the strip is being managed for pollinators. There are even bug hotels, cute little fairy doors and wood carvings throughout, all attesting to just how much this community cares about creating an inviting outdoor space for people to enjoy.
Seeing the park with my ecologist’s eyes, however, I get another perspective. The verges are freshly planted with cherry laurel; the riverside walk has clearly been sprayed with pesticides so that only a brown goop remains; and there is not a native shrub or tree in sight.
I appreciate the positive intentions of the community group and the council who have been working together to make this public space an asset to the town. But when we consider how so many wild bees and butterflies are desperately in need of habitat to counteract the multitude of threats they face, managing such parks with ecologically damaging practices becomes a litany of missed opportunities.
It is now widely known that of the 100 wild bee species we have in Ireland, more than half have undergone substantial declines in their numbers since 1980. Forty of these species have declined by more than half.
Similar trends are now known for butterflies, moths, and hoverflies. and an array of other insect groups.
These are the mainstay of wild ecosystems, with insects comprising two-thirds of our biodiversity, and at least half of the animal species in Ireland.
A rational response to these trends would be to accommodate bees and other invertebrates in every action we take in outdoors areas, especially private gardens, community parklands and other civic spaces. It is insects after all, that recycle nutrients and make fertile soil without which we humans would not last very long. Insects are also food for birds, for amphibians and for freshwater fish; most animals rely on insects for food at some stage of their life cycle. And of course, insects are pollinators.
Yet it is still common practice to poison land to get rid of ‘weeds’. A major scientific paper published in February, collating evidence from more than 1,000 peer-reviewed studies, confirms how pesticides (a term that includes insecticides, herbicides and fungicides) routinely impact non-target species, and have negative secondary impacts that are damaging through the ecosystems where they are applied.
This means, for example, that not only do herbicides wipe out the weeds and wildflowers that some consider unsightly, but they also damage bees, butterflies and hoverflies. Insecticides that target ants or other ‘pests’, for example, also negatively impact bees, frogs, fish, and wild birds. Pesticide use is a major contributor to biodiversity loss.
Add to this the dearth of native plants in farmland, parks and gardens and it doesn’t take a genius to understand why we are in the midst of a biodiversity crisis. Hedges and trees all over the country have been earnestly ripped out in the time between Storm Éowyn and the beginning of the nesting season, during which it is illegal to remove such features. Flower-rich habitats continue to be replaced by 'green deserts', otherwise known as ryegrass pastures, the modus operandi of intensive dairy. These fertiliser-soaked green deserts support negligible insect life and are generally inhospitable to birds and other wild animals too.
But what can we do to turn these trends around?
Rather than feeling helpless or overwhelmed, each of us can turn our intrinsic interest in the natural world in to positive action in our communities. Remembering that the vast majority of people are well-intentioned, however poorly informed, is a good place to start.
Cultivating connections and working with others to effect positive change can be a powerful antidote to the onslaught of relentless bad news. Implementing wildlife friendly measures in gardens and parks is one of the most tangible actions we can take, both individually and with others in the locality.
Working to provide habitat for wild species also helps garner greater awareness of what well informed positive action entails. Extending this principle to local parks, council-managed lands and the premises of businesses, could help turn towns and cities into networks of mini nature reserves where insects are given the space they need to feed, to breed and to disperse throughout the landscape.
Some of the essentials for spring planting schemes include choosing what to plant wisely:
* ‘Double varieties’ of flowers are generally no good for bees, their pollen is often absent and their nectar is inaccessible to bees. Annual bedding plants have very limited, if any, benefit for pollinators, as they contain virtually no pollen and nectar. This means avoiding geraniums, begonias, and petunias both in your garden and in community planting projects.
- Opt instead for the more traditional cottage varieties of flowers, such as borage, heathers, foxgloves, and catmint, which will flower year after year.
- Better still, allow wildflowers to thrive. Beginning in march, those flowers we call 'weeds' provide a rich source of nectar and pollen for spring bumblebees. Dandelion and clover top the charts as pollinator-friendly species. They have the advantage of flowering from the beginning of spring, when bumblebee queens come out from their winter slumber in search of pollen and nectar. She needs to feed on thousands of flowers each day if she is to have sufficient energy to raise her young. The rewards of a long meadow in summer are many, especially when filled with flowers that appear naturally such as ox-eye daisy, self-heal, vetch and yarrow.
- Native trees such as willow, hawthorn, rowan, crab apple, and bird cherry will provide spring flowers in addition to offering habitat to hundreds of species of invertebrate right through till autumn.
- And make sure to agree policies to cease pesticide use.
Fortunately, we in Ireland have excellent resources providing information on how all of this can be achieved. The All-Ireland Pollinator Action Plan website has a wide selection of gorgeously produced guidelines that are free to download. There are accessible guides for farmland; gardeners; councils; residents associations; church grounds; sports clubs and for local communities. Their suite of ‘How-to guides’ will help anyone seeking to go deeper in topics such as hedgerow management; creating a flowering meadow; what trees are best for pollinators; and more.
Embarking on a journey of discovery of how best to take positive action for wildlife is a powerful antidote to despair.
