VERGE trimming has started up again in Cornwall – but Cormac’s mowers will be leaving plenty of room for wildflowers, bees and insects to thrive.

Cornwall Council says that University of Exeter research shows its policy of reducing the number of annual verge trims from eight to two or three is having a positive impact on insect populations.

The study by lead author Ben Phillips says councils and other highway authorities should stop mowing at certain times of the year, and turn verges into a network of ‘wildlife corridors’.

The University report also estimates that the UK has lost almost a third of its insects in the last 50 years.

Cornwall Council is responsible for 75 hectares of urban verges as well as dozens of public parks and gardens. Mowing is now carried out only after flowers have finished and seeds are set, and in the Liskeard and Redruth areas Cormac is trialling special new Italian mowers which collect mown grass without disturbing insects and other wildlife at ground level.

While not everyone that lives in the county is supportive of the reduction in verge trimming, the local authority says it has had lots of positive feedback for the change in policy.

Meanwhile a £2.9 million Making Space for Nature project is also continuing in Cornwall.

This scheme funded by EU and Cornwall Council money and support from the University of Exeter is turning neglected ‘green deserts’ in towns into wildlife-friendly spaces.

Places such as recreation grounds, parks, the edges of sports fields and closed churchyards are being nurtured to create better habitats for bees, butterflies, birds and hedgehogs.

’There will be wildflower meadows, ponds, hedges, trees, pollinator shrubs and bulbs to brighten up selected areas,’ said a Council spokesperson.

’Making Space for Nature’s targets in September will include Lanchard Woods at Liskeard, and Windmill Park, Launceston, followed by a rolling programme of other sites running though until March 2021.’

Cornwall Council’s cabinet member for Climate Change and Looe Councillor Edwina Hannaford said: ’All this biodiverse activity is working towards our Zero Carbon ambitions. And with the reduction in road and air traffic caused by lockdown the planet has had some respite to breathe.

’By next summer all these verges, parks and new rewilded spaces will be buzzing with insects, which is so important for the planet.’