LETTER: Pendle wild flowers meadows are great

Personally, I must commend Pendle Council for creating a number of wild flower meadows in our parks and other green open spaces.

The one at Lower Ball Grove Park is a real picture.

As well as adding a host of multi-coloured flowers, such meadows have the added advantage of attracting insects which are vital in the ecological process of pollination and the food chain.

Without this essential process in nature, the whole cycle of growth would grind to a halt and go into reverse.

For instance, there is a current crisis with the dramatic reduction in the bee population.

This has had a serious knock-on effect on many of our fruit and berry trees/bushes.

As a result, birds will suffer from a lack of food this coming winter. Many growers have harvested little fruit this season with some reporting a drop of up to 90% of their usual crops, such as apples in Worcestershire.

So, we need urgently to foster the resurgence of pollinating insects to restore the balance in the evolutionary process.

Planting wild flower meadows will contribute towards this restoration. Furthermore, wild flower meadows are cheaper to invest in and require lower maintenance costs than producing manicured flower beds or having to mow lawns on a regular basis.

Let’s have more of them. They brighten up the environment and are a joy to behold.

DAVID PENNEY

Chairman

Friends of Greenfield Local Nature Reserve