Morning rant...I am fed up with being called angry and dull for pointing out potentially damaging actions marketed as conservation - "wildflower" mixes, storks etc... Yes, we need more direct action, but why does it have to be dumbed down and "prettified"? 1/n
2/n with my other hat (@morethanweeds), I have started to introduce urban residents to their local flora, and the response has been fantastic - people are sending me emails to ask me how to transplant Herb Robert and poppies from their streets before they get sprayed!
3/n organisations such as @Natures_Voice encourage people to observe local birds and make their gardens more attractive. My point is: why does it have to be so different with plants? Are wild plants considered to be so boring that we have to "garden" them?
4/n 97% of British meadows have disappeared since the 1930s, councils are continuing to mow every piece of grassland and road verge for unexplicable reasons, and we should somehow be content because roundabouts are filling with colourful flowers, whatever they are?
5/n I'm not. Why can't we teach people about what the UK nature used to/should look like for maximum biodiversity? Rewilding initiatives are great but perhaps too far for most people. We need nearby rewilding - long grass areas in parks, verges left to grow, natural tree pits
6/n Yes, councils will get complaints from people who like tidiness (see my previous tweets). Isn't it time they stand up to these, and start to implement the policies they have signed (climate emergency, Biodiversity action plan etc)? With communication, things can change.
7/n People are not stupid but they are overall ecologically ignorant. As conservationists, we are often told we are "experts" who use too much jargon and talk too much. It is sometimes true. But perhaps we could change more things if we were listened to by councils & businesses.
8/n I am not British. I come from a country that has managed to preserve more biodiversity than the UK, but it is still threatened by urban sprawl, industry, bad practices, agricultural pesticides etc. France has however started a deep change, pushed by nature-minded MPs.
9/n. In 🇫🇷 pesticides were banned in public spaces in 2017, in private gardens in 2019. Many councils are "zerophyto" (not even using organic pesticides) and have adapted "gestion différenciée" (differentiated management), a way to maximise biodiversity.
10/n. For French councils, it was a struggle at first. But with campaigns, events, they have managed to get people to accept longer grass, weeds on pavements. There's still a long way to go. But through government agencies and funding, these initiatives are encouraged. 
11/n many councils (including major cities like Lyon) have adopted late cutting for verges and parts of parks. Cutting waste is used as mulch in flower beds to reduce weeding need and save water. It's really not rocket science, but it does require willingness to let nature evolve
12/n I wish something similar could happen across the UK. Given the state of nature, we need large scale action (eg neighbour councils working together, better communication to avoid disasters). Of course, the use of contractors makes this more complicated in the UK
13/n Back to my initial point, I am fed up with debates between scientists, influencers, armchair experts and conservationists. If research shows that California poppies are less useful to insects than Common Mallow, then we should stop marketing them as great for insects.
14/n I am told we don't have the time to think and we must act. I agree. Rethinking *all* unnecessary mowing and spraying is the best action councils and landowners can do, so let's all push for that, as hard as we can? We need to become louder than the tidy brigade...
15/n We also need to work hard on #plantblindness. With @morethanweeds, I've talked to urban residents who have little contact with nature. Telling stories on how birds disperse poppy seeds, or showing them pictures of urban plants in their native mountains has opened their eyes.
16/n We shouldn't lose ourselves in debates about natives vs non-natives, but we should equally not try to recreate a fake, man-pleasing version of nature, with the hope that this will engage people. That's what gardens are for. Let's celebrate and help people see "wild" nature?
