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• Pesticides: the issue of pesticides is a prime one

• Date:

  23rd March 2004

• Contact:

  Sarah Egerton

• Organisation:

  The Civic Trust

Chemical pesticides are often used out of habit and unnecessarily. In Green Flag Award applications, park and green space managers need to prove they are taking measures to strictly monitor the use of pesticides and reduce that use where possible.

River Arrow Local Nature Reserve in the West Midlands scored top marks in this key criteria, with Green Flag Award judges commenting: “The park sets the excellent example of using no pesticides or peat on site.”

The reserve, comprising three hectares of land in the historic town of Alcester, contains a wide diversity of habitats including riverbank, pond, grassland and woodland. It is owned by Stratford-on-Avon District Council and managed by Warwickshire Wildlife Trust.

Stratford Council have put in place a variety of environmental initiatives, with a commitment to using pesticides only when necessary. However, management and voluntary wardens at River Arrow Local Nature Reserve has excelled in the use of good practice.

The use of pesticides has been shown to reduce biodiversity and cause adverse health effects. At River Arrow, biodiversity is actively encouraged and the preservation of species and habitats, while providing opportunity for public recreation, education and research is the main priority of the site.

A summary management plan of the site lays out objectives to: maintain and enhance the principal habitat areas such as grassland, pond and woodland, provide facilities for educational use and public access, maintain suitable conditions for notable species, monitor all habitats and species and promote volunteer involvement, seeking to ensure all aspects of reserve management reflect these environmental principles.

Alan Preece, reserves development officer for Warwickshire Wildlife Trust, said: “We are keen not to use pesticides at the reserve but don’t actually need them, one of the reasons being that it is a grassland site.

“With it also being a nature reserve, we don’t want it to look like a lawn, we want to encourage wildflowers, and so the use of pesticides is not an issue.”

For further information concerning the non-use of pesticides, you can contact Paul Walker, woodlands and greenspace officer at Stratford-on-Avon District Council on: 01789 260 647.