People Before Profit Faughan representative Damian Gallagher has spoken of his “outrage” that Derry City and Strabane District Council along with the Department for Infrastructure for cutting a wildflower meadow in Prehen.
Said Mr Gallagher: “Just a week ago I joined local environmental and biodiversity activists in highlighting the ‘No Mow May – let it grow’ campaign and the attractive wildflower meadow made up of Cuckoo flowers, Dandelion, Daisies and other plant life along the A5 at Prehen.
“We appealed for everyone to not cut lawns, meadows and grass verges (unless a danger to road users) until the end of May. It was a story covered in local newspapers and widely shared online.
“The value of wildflowers and plants are too often overlooked. They are the first source of food for many sleeping bees, wasps, butterflies and hoverflies that awaken at this time of year.
“These pollinators are critical to biodiversity, the natural ecosystem and our food security.
“Derry City and Strabane District Council report that these pollinators have an annual value of £603m in the UK.
“It was both shocking and extremely upsetting for many to see in the last few days that the area highlighted at Prehen has been cut by the DCSDC on behalf of the Department for Infrastructure.
“This has taken place a few days short of May and it is highly unlikely that these well-established flowers will regenerate this year. These flowers were not impacting the vision of drivers or compromising road safety.
“This act is completely is completely disgraceful and runs in contradiction to the fundamental nature of DCSDC’s own Pollinator Plan (part of an all-Ireland pollinator plan), and its claim to be a Climate Emergency Council, A Rights of Nature Council, a Greenways Provision Council etc.
“I have been approached by many residents of the area who are asking the very legitimate questions around who gave permission for this act of environmental vandalism?
“What is the point in having certain policies if they are completely ignored? Why spend this money on
unnecessary mowing in this cost of living crisis that we are experiencing?
“In our council we have a Trees and Woodlands Officer, a Planning Improvement Officer, a Climate Change Officer, an Environment and Development Officer, a Greenways Supervisor and until recently a Biodiversity Officer.
“It is outrageous that this has happened.
“I will be asking council to meet with local activists and environmental campaigners as soon as possible to ensure that their concerns are heard and heeded around this campaign, their wider environmental concerns and to assure everyone that it is native species, like that which was decimated, that are used in all rewilding and wild flowering.”
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