Councillor highlights the importance of Ellon as a biodiverse safe haven
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Ellon ward councillor Anouk Kloppert has expressed her thoughts on greenspaces within our towns and villages and comments on Ellon in particular as she looks at the case for increasing biodiversity in our towns and villages.
She said: "In Ellon we are very fortunate to have the river Ythan running through our town.
"It forms a green heart, with its beautiful historical stone bridge across the river when entering the town centre.
"To the west of this we can see the former railway viaduct which is also built across the Ythan and now forms part of the Formartine way.
"To the north of the town centre, we can walk through McDonald’s park and walking along a historically significant avenue, we find Ellon Castle Gardens, still being restored, to the east of our town.
"I have for more than twenty years enjoyed using the many paths and walks through Ellon.
"There are excellent off-road routes available for cycling with children or for a relaxing stroll.
"Through my interest in the environment, and the beauty of the river Ythan I became aware Ellon has been long supporting biodiversity with notably more greenspaces than many other Aberdeenshire towns.
"The network of paths throughout Ellon offers wildlife-supporting connections between the green havens found along the river and right through town.
"When I joined The River Ythan Trust in 2015, I wanted to give something back and help conserve the river. It was then that I came to realise the great efforts to keep Ellon green have been in place for many years, thanks to numerous biodiversity and amenity groups, and supported by Aberdeenshire council.
"I believe that it was thanks to the Nature Conservation Act 2004 for Scotland that placed a new general duty on public bodies to further the conservation of biodiversity, that many green initiatives in Aberdeenshire succeeded, including in Ellon.
"With the act still in place, this has now led to biodiversity being included in many council policies, and biodiversity is now for instance an important consideration in the determination of planning applications and infrastructure projects.
"The Scottish Climate Change Act which followed in 2009 requires the council to act sustainably, asking to contribute to carbon emissions reduction targets and to climate change adaptation."
She continued: "Since I became councillor, I have been on the council’s sustainability committee.
"This committee makes sure the council works with a Carbon Budget which it sets every year along other financial budgets.
"This approach is to make sure that the council is placing as much focus on its carbon footprint as on its financial budgets.
"The committee looks at sustainable development and climate change to make sure the council complies with its statutory duties, whilst keeping a close eye on the Climate Change Action Plan.
"This action plan is the third to be published since the Climate Change Act was first passed in 2009.
"It sets out a strategy for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
"Another big role of the Sustainability committee is to promote awareness of the need for sustainability within the Council and wider community in Aberdeenshire."
On biodiversity she said: "Aberdeenshire covers a large area of agricultural land and it is worrying to think about, should we lose biodiversity in the area that we are likely to lose our prized high-quality soil.
"A good, healthy soil depends on a vibrant range of life forms living below the ground, from bacteria and fungi to tiny insects, earthworms and moles.
"Good soil plays a vital role in mitigating climate change, storing and purifying water, providing antibiotics and preventing erosion.
"The well-being of all plants and land-based animals depends on the complex processes that take place in soil.
"Rich biodiversity brings immeasurable benefits to all life that surrounds us.
"This means that it is in everybody’s interest to support biodiversity and healthy soil.
"Not only the environment depends on this. "
As she explained: "Food, drink and agriculture are a significant part of north-east Scotland's economy, with more than 22,000 people employed in the sector.
"An estimated one third of the food that we consume each day relies on pollination by bees and other insects.
"Bees and their pollinating friends are thus invaluable to keeping us fed and our local economy going.
"Recent research has shown how many bee species have either become extinct or are under threat all over the UK, with climate change, habitat loss, pollution and disease contributing to this decline. Through careful, joined up land management, working with, rather than against nature, farmers are increasing on-farm biodiversity at the same time as producing environmentally friendly food.
"But unfortunately, there are still numerous negative consequences from modern day intensive farming methods.
"With all the threats to bees out there, we need to understand that more varieties of bees are likely to be found in our town areas than on nearby farmland.
"A build-up area like Ellon can be the unexpected green haven where bees and other pollinators can live in a biodiverse safe space."
This in turn links into a local plan: "The Aberdeenshire Council Pollinator Action Plan was first produced in May 2015.
"Since then the need for urgent action for pollinators has increased. The Council’s Pollinator Action Plan for 2019-2021 strengthens this wider approach in the whole of Aberdeenshire.
"It describes in detail what actions can be taken and includes a list of proposed actions in towns like Ellon where for example, wildflower meadows are to be encouraged on council owned sites.
"Aberdeenshire Council’s Greenspace project, in place since 2019, compliments the Pollinator action plan.
"The Greenspace project provides two Greenspace area officers with the aim to extend and improve green spaces and biodiversity in Aberdeenshire towns.
"The intention is to reduce the areas of kept grasses but increase the number of natural spaces with trees, woodland areas and wildflower meadows.
"Due to the Covid-19 crisis, lots of this work is kept on hold for all the reasons other services had to be kept on hold.
"This has resulted in a forced early introduction of reduced grass cutting frequencies.
"A reduction increases cutting heights which allows wildflowers to flourish such as buttercups, yarrow, and many others to establish, attracting all bees, butterflies and hoverflies.
"As we speak this is where the council has opportunity to try and positively influence behaviour in communities through policies and process.
"The lockdown has led to several positive environmental benefits including an increase in plant species growing in the greenspaces of Ellon."
She noted: "The Greenspace team are currently looking at how to record this increase of biodiversity and species to embrace these positive changes.
"It would be the residents who can help to record these changes when they are out and about in their towns and villages.
"A citizen science programme is currently being developed with various partners to engage with residents and ensure something positive can come from the current situation.
"With Live Life Aberdeenshire, which operates the sports and cultural services on behalf of the council, recently outlining its new open space strategy to the council’s Area committees it looks like a lot of collaboration is possible between council and communities.
"If the funding can be identified, the Live Life proposals will see pitches and green spaces, like in Gordon Park improved and used to its fullest potential to the needs of the local area.
"Ellon is super active and has many clubs looking for training grounds."
The Covid-19 crisis has forced us in an unprecedented lockdown period and amongst many events cancelled was the Climate Week North East, which was to take place from March 20
She continued: "I am the Invasive Non-Native Species Champion for Aberdeenshire council, I was devasted to see The North East Non-Native Invasive Species Forum in Inverurie cancelled and many other events which had seen informing and involving members of the public of all ages.
"Another sad cancellation was for Ellon an event which would have been open to all members of the public with intention to grow a beautiful biodiverse meadow on a small strip along the river Ythan at the Glebe Field.
"This was very unfortunate as this event had been carefully planned after long consultation and working with several local constituted groups.
"This would have been an opportunity for the Ythan Biodiversity Volunteers to introduce themselves to Ellon residents after the group had some time out when the group’s chair Bob Davies unexpectedly passed away last September.
"The Ythan Biodiversity Volunteers have over the last few years been very much concentrating on contributing to biodiversity through conservation work and events and on the control of invasive non-native animals link Mink and plants like Giant Hogweed.
"The latter has been an ongoing project of an epic size along the river Ythan but very few residents in Ellon seem to be aware of it.
"It can take 10 to 15 years to completely eradicate non-native invasive plants like Giant Hogweed and so far we are in year six since the project started.
"So it is essential for the project to continue and succeed.
"The Formartine Partnership has been able to support the group by helping to find some of the funding required, where the River Ythan Trust, also all volunteers, carried out habitat surveys of the whole Ythan catchment from Wells of Ythan to Newburgh.
"Only recently Ellon councillors were contacted by Lynn Gilbert known to many in Ellon as one the Friends of McDonald Park who explained that she wanted to share a photo, taken a couple of weeks ago, of the grass verge beside her driveway and the lovely cuckoo flowers (Cardamine Pratensis) which have had a chance to flower this year thanks to the lack of grass cutting.
"The goldfinches have been enjoying the dandelion seeds.
"It seems to me to be a win/win situation, flowers for us, the insects and birds to enjoy, less labour costs and less pollution from the vehicles used to mow the verge.
"Please councillors, can mowing be delayed and less frequent every year?”
The email caused some reflection: "Lynn has touched upon something here.
"All over the UK vast stretches of roadside have been transformed.
"Where there were thick clumps of grass, there are now low-growing wildflowers such as black medic, birds-foot trefoil and red clover.
"The verges are cut a few times a year.
"Bees and butterflies have returned in their droves.
"The process is simple: cut infrequently, ideally, just twice a year in spring and then late summer once plants have bloomed and seeded; remove the clippings to gradually reduce the fertility of the soil and prevent a build-up of mulch; repeat, wait, and enjoy the resurgent wildlife and flowers.
"The result will result in a low length biodiverse growth.
"The reasons behind this unlikely mini revolution for biodiversity are simple.
"Centuries-old principles of hay making are simply applied to the management of verges, cul-de-sacs and urban grass patches across the county. It is a practice that has been adopted by councils throughout the UK, including Aberdeenshire.
"I hope that from the coronavirus Covid-19 crisis, with all its sadness, loss and fear, at least a new hope will spring that we will include the environment in all our thinking and actions, and that this may encourage us to think of the wider issues involved with how sustainable we live.
