Sustainable Tackley
Reduce. Reuse. Restore.
As we all know 2020 hasn’t been an easy year. The climate emergency was already deeply concerning, biodiversity loss a real worry and then COVID19 hit, which has been so awful for so many. But somehow, somewhere we have to find some positives. As Sir David Attenborough says in his forward to the 2019 State of Nature Report “Although this report highlights what we have lost, and what we are still losing, it also gives examples of how we – as individuals, organisations, governments – can work together to stop this loss, and bring back nature where it has been lost. These examples should give us hope and inspiration.”
So, what has this got to do with Tackley, the environment and COVID19? Well, during the lockdown when the verges and green areas were being left a little less manicured than normal (although, thank you to Green Scythe for keeping the sports field in tip top condition!) we started to see a little more life in the village than normal. Dots of colour appearing where flowers were able to bloom, the buzz of bees, the hum of insects and, particularly down Rousham Road, the singing of crickets and grasshoppers (did you know, grasshoppers make the noise with their legs and crickets with their wings?) We are lucky to live in beautiful rural Oxfordshire and so fortunate to have the heath on our doorstep, but space for other flora and fauna continues to decrease. Any extra space we can provide for our fellow inhabitants of this planet can only be a good thing. So, from next year we will be changing the way we manage our green spaces in the village. It will likely be an evolving process. While we have a plan, based on Plantlife’s Good Verge Guide and we will cut our hedges in a different way, if things aren’t quite right as we go along, we will make changes. Some areas, like the sports field, playground and village green, will remain short cut and managed as they currently are, although we will have a wide margin around the sports field only cut twice per year to provide shelter for frogs and insects alongside the stream and develop a corridor through the village. Other verges, which need to not get too out of hand, will be cut four times a year to encourage smaller flowers to grow, and other areas will only get two cuts per year to give time for the larger flowers grow, flower and set seed. All cuttings will be removed to reduce the vigour of the grass which is what allows the flowers to compete and flourish. This may take a few years to really make a difference, so if there are some sightlines blocked by some over enthusiastic grass, which makes walking on footpaths or driving, dangerous, of course we will make sure those places are sorted out. We will also make sure there is communication between the contractors and the PC so that we can be sure flowers have set seed before cutting commences and also to liaise with Tackley PALs to make sure litter is removed before cutting. It is awful to see litter shredded after the cutting as it cannot all be removed, becoming part of the soil and part of the problem. And, of course, the Sustainable Tackley Group are finalising plans to develop Jubilee Garden to not only make it a nicer place for us to be, but also for wildlife. There are other councils around country who have been following the Good Verge Guide, and/or rewilding areas, for several years (Dorset), others which have more recently switched ( e.g. Elmdon Park, Solihull and Yardley, Birmingham) and more locally Oxford City Council are reviewing cutting in parks and green spaces and will be asking the County Council to review their verge cutting regimens. So we are not alone in what we plan to do, but maybe at the start of a better way of managing our greenspaces throughout the country! We hope that you enjoy the changes and be patient with little problems while the process evolves. If you have any more ideas on ways of greening the village, please contact the Clerk if you think it is a Parish Council matter or Sustainable Tackley if it is another initiative the village could be involved with. Liz Marshall (on behalf of Tackley Parish Council)
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