Why was there a need for the project?
Working on a road verge.Photograph by James Ferguson,
Yorkshire Wildlife Trust.
Road verges have long been recognised as valuable refuges for wildlife. With pressure from changing agricultural practices and increasing levels of traffic they have become ever more important for wildlife – both as habitat refuges and as access corridors for animals. Surveys carried out by the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority over the past 20 years have shown reductions in numbers of species and individuals on road verges.
What were the project's aims?
The Yorkshire Dales Road Verge Project (YDRVP) is a pilot scheme for the county of North Yorkshire. It aims to find sustainable methods of managing road verges by working with local communities and North Yorkshire County Council (NYCC) Highways Dept.
What has the project achieved so far?
Through working with local communities in the first 2 years of the project 350 volunteers, from more than 20 villages, have worked for over 1100 hours managing more than 12km/25,000 square metres of their local road verges. These are people who care passionately about where they live and want to do something easy and simple to help. Each community has two work days – one cutting and one raking.
Through working with NYCC Highways Department more than 1000km of road verge in the project area now have improved cutting regimes. This has been at no cost to the County Council, but purely by adjusting the cutting times to those more suited for our native flora and fauna.
Who is involved?
The project has been led by Yorkshire Wildlife Trust in conjunction with Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority and North Yorkshire County Council. The project has been made possible through significant funding and operational support provided by Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, with match funding from a legacy from the estate from Miss J Mountain to Yorkshire Wildlife Trust.
Further information:
Please contact the Project Officer, James Ferguson, by emailing roadverges@ywt.org.uk or visit the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust website.
