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To save our pollinators we need weeds

Tony.harwood36Tony.harwood36 Posts: 3
in Wildlife gardening
Our pollinators are undergoing catastrophic declines as a result of habitat loss and pesticide use. But there is something we can all do to give our bees, butterflies and other beleaguered nectar and pollen feeders a helping hand.

A fantastic petition to the UK Parliament has just been posted calling for the repeal of the archaic Weeds Act 1959. This now obsolete piece of legislation drives and justifies the 'scorched earth' approach to land management practiced by many councils and other land owners.

Please sign and share with your friends we can really make a difference for our declining pollinators:
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/266743
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Posts

  • nutcutletnutcutlet Posts: 27,445
    I do agree Tony. all we read is help the Bees, Bee Bombs, dangerous spiders and people suck it up. We need to protect the whole eco-system, much of which depends, at some stage, on a native plant. 


    In the sticks near Peterborough
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    ✅ 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • yorkshireroseyorkshirerose Posts: 574
    I'm with you. Will sign now!
    A gardener's work is never at an end  - (John Evelyn 1620-1706)
  • BijdezeeBijdezee Posts: 1,484
    Done. 
  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    @Tony.harwood36 maybe as a new poster you should introduce yourself and explain your role in the petition. A link to a campaign page with the facts of the arguments is also useful.
    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
  • Tony.harwood36Tony.harwood36 Posts: 3
    As background the Weeds Act petition has recently received coverage on The Telegraph website:

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/09/14/give-dock-leaves-thistles-protected-status-save-britains-rare/

    Though a little dramatic in its framing and title the article in none the less worth a read.

    In terms of my interest, I chair Maidstone Borough Council's Climate Change and Biodiversity Emergency Working Group and this petition was submitted by a brilliant local young ecologist. 
  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    Thanks for that. Like you say that article is a bit misleading at times but useful. It's a shame the headline missed the point so badly though. I think the petition will face strong opposition from the horsey set sadly. Most horse owners I know hold very strong and usually incorrect views on ragwort especially.
    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
  • Tony.harwood36Tony.harwood36 Posts: 3
    Indeed, as an owner of horses who all steer well clear of ragwort but quite enjoy a nice spear thistle, which they 'paw' to 'defuse' the spines, I fear you are correct. The predictable comments at the foot of the Telegraph article have been rebutted quite effectively though.
  • Big Blue SkyBig Blue Sky Posts: 716
    Signed 👍
    Surrey
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    As a member of a farming family and former horse owner I understand the dangers to grazing animals from ragwort ... particularly dangerous if growing in meadows which are cut for hay as dried ragwort is more palatable as it loses its bitter flavour. 

    I have always walked my pastures regularly and uprooted ragwort and removed and burned it. Ragwort should never ever be uprooted and left. 

    However I see absolutely no problem with ragwort growing away from land that is used for grazing or hay.  Ragwort is an important food resource for many insects, many of which are in decline. 

    I have a great memory of 30 years ago of an area from coastal common land in Suffolk with hundreds of Cinnabar moths and caterpillars on an area of ragwort ... that ragwort is no longer there ... I’ve been told that it was removed due to a concerted campaign by the parish council who felt that it was their duty to remove it. 😢 

    I have have signed the petition. 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





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