Help shape the future of biodiversity in West Northamptonshire

As we enter the spring and summer months, West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) is looking at ways it can help promote environmental awareness for the natural environment and gain further understanding on how people locally support national campaigns to enhance biodiversity.

Last year, WNC supported the national campaign run by Plantlife, No Mow May. The Council will again be supporting the campaign this year in May and will be enabling some of the green spaces it looks after to grow wildly for May, where safe and reasonable to do so.

People across West Northamptonshire are being asked to share their views on the national campaign and let the Council know if they take part in these, so that it can gain a better understanding of how West Northamptonshire residents positively impacted biodiversity.

The six-week online engagement will take place from Monday 8 April to Sunday 19 May, and people can have their say here: https://westnorthants.citizenspace.com/cet/no-mow-may 

“Creating areas for our wildlife is important, the best time to do this is in late spring although we encourage this all-year round. Birds, bats, beetles, butterflies and other wildlife are pollinators, this means that they are needed for flowers and crops to reproduce or produce food. Without pollinators we would not have an agricultural economy, which means we would not have a food supply, it would also greatly change the natural environment and surrounding landscapes.

“We allow verges to grow where this doesn’t cause an obstruction, however, we take account of pedestrians and traffic by cutting the necessary amount of grass verge to make it safe.

“I would encourage anyone who has supported these national campaigns or is interested in finding out how they can support biodiversity in their area to fill out the online form and help shape the future of wildlife in West Northants.”Cllr Phil Larratt, Cabinet Member for Environment, Transport, Highways and Waste at WNC