We’ve selected areas around Chesterfield where we’re letting the grass grow longer and the flowers bloom to boost biodiversity and create new habitats.

Areas like this create shelter and food for a range of creatures including bees, butterflies, hedgehogs, birds, frogs and many more.

We’re also seeing flowers blossom that have previously not grown locally. In areas we have allowed to grow long, we found plants like Orange Hawkweed, Red Clover, Birds Foot Trefoil, Geraniums, Dandelions and even a rare Bee Orchid.

We’ll continue to assess areas like this to understand how our reduced mowing is enhancing the environment.

Why is this important?

Climate change is causing more extreme weather events and increased temperatures which together are reducing biodiversity and leading to a loss of habitat for many animals. By creating improved environments, we can help reduce this impact and ensure the creatures which make our local ecosystem thrive, survive.

Helping wildlife like bees is crucial to our wider ecosystem. There are over 250 species of bee in the UK and they play a vital part in supporting the ecosystem. Bumblebees are disappearing - six out of the 25 species have declined in numbers by at least 80% over the last 50 years. The UK has lost 97% of its wildflower meadows since the 1930s.

Leaving areas uncut also allows native species to thrive, which are more suited to the local ecosystem. Plants like Dandelions and Clover are great for pollinators like bees but by mowing regularly it suppresses these plants.

By reducing cutting in these areas, we can also focus more on the areas where access is important.

You can find out more about what we’re doing locally to tackle climate change and reduce emissions by visiting our climate change page.