It's "wildflower" season again on social media. Great colourful displays BUT issues which need to be raised :
1) They are often not WILDFLOWERS
2) They are not the best for INSECTS, they may be (not always) to POLLINATORS
3) They certainly aren't MEADOWS
Let me explain 1/n Many of the seed mixes contain non-native plants such as California poppies or Mexican cosmos. Even "native" mixes often contain a restricted range of plants, mainly cornfield annuals (poppies, cornflowers...). They're pretty - why does this matter? 2/n

France's yearly agricultural exhibition #SIA2022 has opened in a tense context of discussions about food sovereignty. But how is 🇫🇷 faring? Not that well. Only in the past 10 years, 100,000 farms have disappeared, 80,000 farming jobs lost - big increase in farm size 1/n

https://twitter.com/Sophie_Chapelle/status/1499668015809454084

2/n Increase in farm size often correlated (but not always) with biodiversity loss, eg through plots being brought together, hedgerows removed, more mechanisation. This happened massively during the post-war "remembrement" and is particularly visible in some regions

Thread. I was born close to one of France's largest nuclear power plants, Cattenom: a "normal" landscape for local residents since its opening in 1985. ☢️The plant needs a huge amount of cooling water, so an artificial reservoir was created. But how is biodiversity impacted? 1/n 2/n The Mirgenbach lake (7.3 million m3) is a unique ecosystem. Despite being in a cold region (we frequently get -15°C), winter water temp never gets <12°C, meaning that organisms don't behave as in surroundings lakes. Fishing is permitted, as are other activities (windsurf..)

1/n Purist or not? I listed arguments against using non-native flower mixes in my blog post. One of them is of course the fact that mixes contain non-native plants, which may be of little use to insects. But it's not the only one. naturanaute.com/2019/07/18/whe…

https://twitter.com/EUPerspectives/status/1442770504000155649

2/n Another issue is land use. Do people realise that these mixes require obliterating anything that's present before, often through the use of herbicides? This may destroy interesting plants, insects, soil flora, fungi... and councils rarely do prior botanical/insect surveys.

A terrifying yet unsurprising study has just been published about biodiversity in Luxembourg, "in freefall". 😟 This is a tiny country, the size of Greater London roughly divided in two: a wooded, hilly North & a flatter agricultural, urban and industrial South 🇱🇺 🐄🌾🌲🏭🏗️ 1/n 2/n Luxembourg is sadly famous for its 600 banks. There's scientific knowledge through @naturmusee & cross-borders projects. But the economic pressure is strong. Urbanisation, property speculation & infrastructure projects are rampant. Perhaps this study will be an eye-opener?

The London Resort theme park has passed its 1st planning hurdle - and it is a death sentence on nature in SE England. Conservationists are trying to save this amazing nature space, but with 2.5bn investments & a government committed to infrastructure projects, what hope is there? Swanscombe includes habitats that have become rare with urbanisation along the Thames, such as chalk grassland, wetlands & brownfield. It is home to 250 insect species of "conservation concern" - that is, at risk of extinction!

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!