Leicestershire residents are being urged to stay on the look-out for local wildlife as part of World Biodiversity Day, which is marked today (22nd May).
The day promotes global awareness of the planet’s biodiversity issues, and this year’s theme, “Our solutions are in nature”, celebrates the importance of working together to build a sustainable future.
To support the initiative, we are asking the public, whenever they can, to record what they see on their daily walks using NatureSpot, a website that helps maintain up-to-date county wildlife records, to learn all about the natural environment. The website address is www.naturespot.org.uk
It's essential that we work together to conserve nature, landscapes and eco-systems, both locally and globally.
“Nature recovery and environmental growth is at the forefront of our environment strategy and we are committed to implementing solutions that set the path for a healthier, greener Leicestershire.
Person:Councillor Blake Pain, acting deputy leader and cabinet member for action on climate changeWe have recently launched an urban wildlife verge project, helping to create an environmentally-enriching approach to verge maintenance and sowing the seeds for several other projects aimed at strengthening biodiversity across Leicestershire.
These include:
- Charnwood Forest Landscape Partnership Scheme successfully securing £3.7m of investment from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to promote, protect and enhance the Charnwood Forest landscape through a programme of eighteen interconnected projects;
- Burbage Parish Council has secured funding through the county council’s SHIRE Environment Grant programme towards the planting of new, wildlife-friendly hedgerows around the Britannia Road recreation ground. The planting will form part of a broader biodiversity project which will include the planting of new trees and putting up bat, bird and owl boxes;
- Similarly, a ‘Green Gym’ has been approved in Measham, which aims to create a food growing space based on permaculture principles, in order to attract native species of insect and provide much needed food sources for people and nature within the urban area;
- Broughton Astley Parish Council are using SHIRE grant funding to improve species of plant on four roadside verges.
All these projects are currently underway, with others being reviewed.
Details on how to apply for SHIRE grant funding for your own community project can be found by visiting www.leicestershire.gov.uk/community-grants