Iolo urges council to ‘let it grow’!
TV nature expert Iolo Williams has urged Powys County Council (PCC) not to be hasty in cutting grassed areas and road verges.
The Springwatch presenter, who lives close to Welshpool, has highlighted the positives of the Coronavirus-enforced council pause to grass cutting, with the area ablaze with the sort of flora that encourages honeybees and wild pollinators including bumblebees, wasps, hoverflies, butterflies and moths which are an essential part of our ecosystem.
Iolo has been posting on Twitter the array of wildlife, plants and flowers that he has come across on his daily walks, and also posted pictures of Welshpool roundabout, adding: “This is what Welshpool roundabout looks like. Food galore for pollinators & seed-eaters. Well done @PowysCC, more of this in future please.”
His comments sparked a debate which included a tweet by PCC’s current chairman, Cllr Beverley Baynham inviting him to see the work going on in his home town.
Cllr Baynham, said: “When lockdown is over you’ll have to come to Presteigne @IoloWilliams2 we’ve agreed a different grass cutting schedule with @PowysCC this year. It will see swathes of town verge left for nature to take its course. It’s a bit of a trial this year but fingers crossed.”
Mr Williams who grew up in Llanwddyn and went to Llanfyllin High School is a regular presenter on BBC’s Springwatch, Autumnwatch and Winterwatch programmes.
A spokesperson for PCC, said: “We will begin cutting verges/roadsides in May. All verges will receive a ‘safety cut’ which means that the full width of the grass may not all be mown, as usual, but that vehicles and pedestrians will have clear visibility and access.”
A report by the Welsh Government said that the value of pollination as a contribution to the UK crop market was £430 million and the cost of hand pollination, has been estimated at £1.8 billion per year in the UK.
Wales’ environment body, Natural Resources Wales (NRW) have spearheaded a “Love Pollinators” campaign in the past.
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