This month sees the completion of a pioneering Lincolnshire conservation scheme’s summer season. The results are in from Life on the Verge — which monitors and maintains roadside verges, keeping an eye on Lincolnshire’s native wildflower species, as well as the butterflies and other species they support — and with such promising feedback, many are hoping the scheme will continue into 2011 despite question marks over funding.

“Roadside verges might seem an unlikely candidate for conservation.” says the scheme’s Mark Schofield. “Given the rutting, salt-spreading, year-round mowing and fly-tipping that can occur along them.”

However, the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust scheme has found that the limestone grassland flanking our highways can play a significant role in saving threatened wild flowers, 50 years after the first Roadside Nature Reserves were created in the UK. Life on the Verge began early last year, mobilising teams of volunteers to discover the richest  roadsides and secure their management before it’s too late.

Roadside verges are especially important to areas of Lincolnshire with chalk or limestone soil. Often, they can hold up to 40 plant species per square metre. It’s the foundation for a kaleidoscope of songbirds, butterflies, small mammals and their predators.

In Lincolnshire, our limestone grassland has suffered the extinction of flowering plants to the tune of one species a year over the last century. Butterfly species are also under threat from the loss of natural wildflower species, with the loss of the Chalkhill Blue just one example. Little more than 100ha/250acres of limestone grassland is thought to remain within the project’s 600 square mile catchment area.

Mark moved to Lincolnshire in January 2009 from his native Sussex having completed a Masters in Conservation to work on the project in 2009 and 2010. His aims were to address the decline of limestone grassland verges and their associated species and to help raise local awareness of this threatened habitat.

However with over 1,300 miles of verge to survey between Lincoln and Stamford it was a daunting task, so Mark came up with a novel idea.

“We wanted to involve volunteers — which both raises awareness of the project, and creates a ‘workforce’ across the county.” he says. “The response from local people has been magnificent. Over two years we have recruited over 115 survey volunteers who have helped us cover almost 500km of roads. Each volunteer reserves a section of verge to survey, and is emailed the necessary survey forms and maps. Ten free wildflower identification field trips were provided throughout the summer to train budding botonists. All they need to do then is walk a 1km stretch at the right time and record what’s in flower.”

Last year nearly a quarter of verges surveyed contained enough species to warrant Local Wildlife Site designation.

With two complete seasons, the end result will be a map of the verges deserving sympathetic management. That in turn will enable Wildlife Trusts across the UK and respective Highways authorities to target resources effectively.

Exciting results have emerged from the surveying project already, with two north-south ‘corridors’ of high-scoring verges that link Lincoln with Stamford already being called Wild Flower Ways.

The first star to emerge from the project is King Street, which runs for eight miles along the course of a Roman road near Ancaster.

“King Street links three limestone grassland SSSIs with five Roadside Nature Reserves and will form a ‘Climate Corridor’ with Clustered Bellflower, Pyramidal and Bee Orchid occuring along it.” says Mark.

“Distribution of these increasingly rare plantsis threatened by invasive species, so restorative management is urgently required. Once sites such as these are designated as a Local Wildlife Site, Lincolnshire County

Council can target them with the ongoing care they need.”

In addition to discovering the most precious stretches of verge, Mark also makes hay. The hay-making process more-or-less replicates the natural effect of primordial grazing animals which wild grassland depended on in the past.

“The timing of the cut is important.” says Mark. “Traditionally hay was cut from the middle of July onwards. However, a cut taken from as late as September allows most flowering species like Clustered Bellflower, Greater Knapweed and small Scabious to propagate by seed.”

Modern tractors with flail mowers are quick and cheap but flailing leaves a thatch of cuttings which obstructs the growth of all but the most vigorous plants.

Also, as cuttings rot down, they return nutrients down to the soil, increasing its fertility and allowing aggressive Nettle, Cow Parsley and Dock to smother less vigorous wild flowers. Fertilisers spread onto neighbouring land and can indirectly choke verge wildflowers too.

To combat the problem, Mark carries out cutting in late summer with hay then baled and removed from the site.  Ongoing hay cuts year-on-year will reduce soil fertility which in turn helps to improve biodiversity, and if hedgerow bases are cut less frequently they can provide better cover for overwintering invertebrates and small mammals.

The hay recovered is by no means a waste product and provides an excellent feed and bedding for livestock.

With the project funded by Natural England, The SITA Trust and Heritage Lottery Fund, The Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust is hoping to secure funding for similar work to continue into the Wolds. However, with the project facilitating the practical management of

Lincolnshire’s verges, surveying and management of many species of wildflowers as well as the species of birds, butterflies and mammals which thrive on them, and providing education to raise awareness of Lincolnshire’s diverse wildflower population, many hope the project can continue, as does Mark himself.

“With the right management, grassland growing on limestone soils can be one of the most diverse habitats in the country and a riot of wild flower colour in spring and summer.” He says.