A Mayo View: Biodiversity looks ugly when it's only done as a box-ticking exercise

Local authorities and others have been obliged this summer to leave sections of green areas in towns and villages uncut until September in the name of biodiversity.

The purpose is to create zones where bees and other insects can thrive in the interest of preserving nature, which is fair enough.

But the reality is different because we are left with many ugly and unsightly patches of ground in which no self-respecting bee or wasp would ever bother spending time.

Apart from a few brilliant exceptions like the apple tree planting programme at Lough Lannagh in Castlebar, very little thought or effort has been invested in these areas, making them look more like eyesores than places designed to celebrate nature.

Even the very fact that a need exists to erect signs in front of these patches of ground undermines the whole concept entirely: if they were places where biodiversity was truly embraced and thriving, then the public would not have to be told so by a sign because they would instantly recognise them.

So, in this observer's view, the approach needs to go back to the drawing board and be taken a lot more seriously than simply allocating a green space that the council's grass cutters can conveniently choose to ignore.

There needs to be time and effort devoted to identifying and planting a wide selection of perennial flowers and shrubs in these locations and then caring for them properly season after season.

Such projects should be attended to within one month of commencement to shape the biodiversity area tastefully and make them look attractive to the viewer with regular checks being made going forward.

There are already voluntary groups in place in towns and villages across Mayo prepared to do this work with the right encouragement, investment and direction.

However, existing biodiversity projects undertaken simply as a box-ticking exercise are inhibiting the concept by turning the public against it because all they see is overgrown patches of ground left unattended and attracting litter.

So, please, if we are going to do biodiversity, let's do it right with a clear vision and an approach that will enhance towns, villages and residential areas.

Rather than the contrary.