Managing road verges for nature, the environment and people

8th July 2021

Description

Road verges form a network of habitats that cover 1.2% of land in Great Britain. Verges can support a surprising diversity of species, yet are generally managed with little regard for wildlife. Over the past decade, there have been growing calls for councils and highways authorities to manage road verges for nature. Alongside this has been a growing realisation of the potential role of verges (including street trees) as green infrastructure, with an opportunity to provide broader environmental and social benefits (e.g. carbon storage, improved air quality, and access to nature). In this webinar, Ben Phillips (University of Exeter), Kate Petty (Plantlife) and Phil Sterling (Butterfly Conservation) discuss their work to improve road verges for nature, the environment and people. They ask: 1. Why do road verges matter? 2. What about roadkill and pollution? 3. How can we better manage our verges? And, 4. How can we implement this in practice? The talk combines the latest in road verge research (including that carried out over the past four years at the University of Exeter), road verge management guidelines (from Plantlife’s campaign – created in partnership with highways authorities and conservation organisations), and practical examples from across the UK (including pioneering work in Dorset).