North Pennines AONB asks residents to pay attention to roadside verges

The North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (North Pennines AONB) Partnership has launched the campaign to save plants that grow in the verges.

Once grazed by livestock, and looked after by specialist ‘lengthsmen’, the verges are now generally managed by contractors on behalf of local authorities and because of budget cuts they are not always seen as a priority.

With hundreds of miles of verges throughout the North Pennines, the AONB Partnership is asking residents to let them know about any really flower-rich verges near where they live.

They hope this will help them to work more closely with councils and local communities to protect the stretches of grassland that are often the final refuge of plants like orchids and globeflower.

Rebecca Barrett, Biodiversity Officer at the North Pennines AONB Partnership, said: “Road verges might be narrow but they link together to from a wonderful network of habitats across the North Pennines landscape. They are now some of the best places to see once-common wildflowers like wood crane’s-bill and melancholy thistle and are increasingly important wildlife corridors for other creatures like hares and bumblebees.”

“We are concerned that our road-side wild flowers are disappearing because of changes in the way they have been managed in recent years. We would like to encourage people who live in the North Pennines to have a look at their local verges and let us know of any that are especially flower-rich. Once we know where our best verges are, we can work with local communities and local authorities to make sure our verges keep hold of their wildflowers into the future.”

With careful management, and the cooperation of local communities, Ms Barrett believes that the roadside verges can continue to flourish and provide wildlife with a valuable habitat and food source.

To get in touch with Ms Barrett call 01388-528801 or email rebecca@northpenninesaonb.org.uk