Spring is in the air - Phillipa Reece's Blog
Spring is in the air once again and I just love it. I cant wait for the seasons to move into the next stage.
It’s so beautiful to see bulbs starting to push through, hear birds starting to sing more and start to define their territories as my local robin is doing, the hint of warmth in the air and the days becoming longer once more BUT
Autumn and winter this year have been very important for us. We have needed to catch up in certain areas where there has not been a focus before. We have needed to do some deeper work on pruning and opening up sight lines to actually make areas feel safe and welcoming. Its been great to see asb levels dropping in these areas then. We have also removed moss off surfaces so it’s not like an ice rink when it’s wet to enable better access to these areas and increase users. We have been bringing hedgerows back into active management to keep that habitat space thick and solid to provide nesting spaces and good filtration systems next to highways for particulates improving our environment for health reasons also.
It’s been important for me to focus on these areas to really ensure equality of access to good, well maintained, safe and healthy parks and open spaces for all members of our communities as well as for nature.
It’s been a struggle though as the season to do this is becoming shorter as our climate is warmer and nature continues to grow. Where we would have extra staff from the mowing team to really help out with this type of work, they have needed to mow from time to time right through the winter period as the grass has never really stopped growing.
As managers of these services, we need to be a tune to this and redefine the way we work every year now to ensure that we can make inroads into areas where we need to. Our time has been shorter though with less staff to do this so it will take us longer to achieve the aims as we have not made it round all the areas we wanted to with us needing to adapt to these changes.
As spring continues to move into our world of operations it will be beautiful to see the tens of thousands of bulbs we have planted over the winter months starting to flower and create a place for pollinators as well as beauty, colour and diversity for our eyes. I have gone for a good mix of species to really maximise the flower season of bulbs to expand on the offer we are providing.
Our work is transformational and is legacy work for future generations and playing that vital role in adapting and fighting against the tide of climate change.