--- title: Think Biodiversity url: "https://www.systra.com/uk/expert_insights/think-biodiversity/" type: expert_insights date_published: 2023-05-18 date_modified: 2023-09-14 schema: @type: WebPage language: en-GB word_count: 788 reading_time: 4 min canonical: "https://www.systra.com/uk/expert_insights/think-biodiversity/" featured_image: "https://www.systra.com/uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2023/05/l2-market-cities-and-urban-mobility-website-header.jpg" type-insight: - Creating Places That Thrive --- # Think Biodiversity ![Think Biodiversity](https://www.systra.com/uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2023/05/l2-market-cities-and-urban-mobility-website-header.jpg) **What travels north at 2mph? The answer is the passage of spring, according to researchers from the University of Coventry who first calculated the figure by analysing the pattern of spring events across the UK. The timing of the seasons is hugely important for biodiversity since any long-term change will have an impact upon the success or failure of our plants and wildlife.** Every day, plants, animals, and the climate work together to maintain the balance of nature. In many ways they are the nuts, bolts and oil of a perfectly balanced machine. Maintaining biodiversity is important as it prevents this balance getting out of sync. As humans we are becoming acutely aware of our environmental impact through the choices we make – from the food we eat and the flowers we grow in our garden, to the way we heat our homes and the way we get to work or shop. That’s got to be good news for biodiversity. But let’s be clear, it’s not all just about designating more _areas of outstanding natural beauty_. It’s also about enhancing and protecting the natural spaces where we live in our towns, cities and rural villages, as well as the corridors in between. ![expert-insights-biodiversity_woodland](https://www.systra.com/uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2023/06/expert-insights-biodiversity_woodland-1024x685.jpg) ![expert-insights-biodiversity-2](https://www.systra.com/uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2023/06/expert-insights-biodiversity-2-1024x680.jpg) And, resolutely aware of our obligation to nature, are those professionals directly involved in the local planning process whose job it is to weigh up the likely environmental (including biodiversity) impact of each new housing and infrastructure development proposal? It’s a daunting task. Some authorities are better equipped than others with their own expert teams of ecologists, water and landscape specialists – they have developed plans and strategies to protect natural habitats, including majestic trees in our streets and urban parks, ancient woodlands, hedgerows and village ponds. We’ve got to get this right. People care deeply about where they live. Their local environment matters and has an immediate impact on the air they breathe and their mental wellbeing. People want to protect nature. You only have to look at the recent local election results in Plymouth (May 2023) where the destruction of ancient trees were a key electoral issue. There are some great examples from across the UK of initiatives which are already improving biodiversity, such as  _[Kent County Council’s Bee Pollinator Action Plan](https://www.kent.gov.uk/environment-waste-and-planning/nature-and-biodiversity/pollinators/kents-plan-bee-pollinator-action-plan)_  to improve bee populations through creating landscapes where bees and insects can thrive. The County has changed its highway verge maintenance regime to allow wild flowers to bloom in the summer for bees. Kent’s verges are now cut in the spring and again in the autumn. ![Bee on flower](https://www.systra.com/uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2023/06/expert-insights-biodiversity-1024x578.jpg) **[Kent County Council’s Bee Pollinator Action Plan](https://www.kent.gov.uk/environment-waste-and-planning/nature-and-biodiversity/pollinators/kents-plan-bee-pollinator-action-plan) ** There are some great examples from across the UK of initiatives which are already improving biodiversity, such as  _[Kent County Council’s Bee Pollinator Action Plan](https://www.kent.gov.uk/environment-waste-and-planning/nature-and-biodiversity/pollinators/kents-plan-bee-pollinator-action-plan)_  to improve bee populations through creating landscapes where bees and insects can thrive. The County has changed its highway verge maintenance regime to allow wild flowers to bloom in the summer for bees. Kent’s verges are now cut in the spring and again in the autumn. With specialist environmental knowledge and national government policies such as  _Biodiversity Net Gain_ to guide us, new housing, as well as road and rail infrastructure development, need not be an attack on nature. Our teams have been working collaboratively to create green corridors throughout the UK and sensitively enable habitats otherwise split by development to thrive instead. Our ecologists have helped preserve tree canopies above roads to support bat colonies, built ledges** **to allow wildlife to pass through culverts, and have worked with drainage engineers to change traditional plastic lined fenced ponds in favour of unlined and unfenced alternatives. We are constantly learning **from **nature – from the timing of the seasons to the way plants communicate through their roots, we are learning to care **for ** it too. ![](https://www.systra.com/uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2023/05/future-mobilities-call-out-1024x683.jpg) _Enhancing and protecting the natural spaces where we live in our towns, cities and villages_ [JOIN OUR COMMUNITY](https://www.systra.com/uk/register/join-our-community/)