No Mow May: 'It's like a scene from The Walking Dead'
One local business owner had his say on the state of Armagh's walkways...
By now you may have heard of a little campaign known as ‘No Mow May’.
The initiative was first popularised by UK-based environmental organisation Plantlife with the mission to reduce lawn mowing or heavy gardening during the month of May to provide as much ‘food’ possible for our essential pollinators.
However, the idea - whilst laudable - is arguably being taken to the extreme across the ABC Borough.
One business owner spoke to Armagh I about the current state of the footpaths, parking bays and grassy areas in the city - all of which seem to be sprouting!
He said: “Looking across the road now, there’s weeds growing along right where you park and I’ve never seen it like that in all my 20 years in the town.
“Weeds on the road, weeds on the footpath, it’s like a scene from The Walking Dead.”
Another resident also contacted us about the weeds and overgrown grass, saying: “I drove through the town yesterday and saw the mess of areas such as Culdee, Irish Street, the Folly and Druids Villas to mention a few!
“The Armagh city people pay rates and deserve to have the streets kept tidy. I have written to the council and not had a response.”
And, it’s not an issue unique to Armagh city. DUP MP Carla Lockhart has also received similar complaints from residents living across the borough, to which she replied: “I have received many complaints from people across Lurgan, Portadown and Banbridge regarding the overgrown grass areas, particularly within the estates.
“I have been in contact with the relevant authorities and have been assured that given the better weather you will see crews on the ground this week.
“DFI are responsible for road verges and their schedule is only starting so please be careful!”
The MP also encouraged those wishing to raise areas of concern to contact her directly.
What are your thoughts? Is it better to protect flora and fauna or leave our streets looking the bee’s knees?
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🤔 Conundrum
Well done to those of you who guessed last Tuesday’s conundrum… This citrus drink is a bit burnt
The answer: Charlemont
Today’s conundrum is this…
Robert Frost dreams of swinging on these
Where in Co Armagh are we talking about?
as a keen amateur naturalist and botanist, i find the dire and rapidly deteriorating state of our environment in armagh to be very depressing. The flora and fauna of our countryside is extremely limited. those green field are monocultures of rye grass, tree coverage is the lowest in europe, orchards are lovely to look at but multiply pressure-sprayed with pesticide, our insect populations are crashing, the remaining last corners of interesting wetland, etc, are ripped up and drained by the ubiquitous JCB, hedges are flayed in the nesting season. pavements, gutters and urban wate areas are at least a great source of botanical interest if you look carefully. are we suggesting that the council should soak our pavements with glyphosate? our politicians don't seem to have insight into environmental issues, or intent to monitor and police environmental damage. time for more scientists in the political arena! martin smith
No mow May is good....