Life on the Verge creating and managing wildlife friendly verges

An informative and inspiring talk by County road verge specialists, Dr Kate Petty from Plantlife and Leo Gubert, senior ecologist at Highways England South West. Did you know that nearly half of the UK’s wildflower species grow in verges? That roadside spaces are refuges for many rare meadow wildflowers that have vanished from elsewhere in the landscape? Roadside verges cover a huge area in the UK and they are increasingly important in providing habitat for threatened wildlife, from insects to birds, mammals large and small, reptiles and amphibians. It’s not enough to have island nature reserves - wildlife needs corridors to move along or populations become isolated. How do we encourage Devon’s County and Parish Councils to manage them for wildlife?