Latest news with #MarkSchofield
Rhyl Journal
6 days ago
- General
- Rhyl Journal
'No Mow May' initiative could be extended across Wales
The proposal aims to reverse decades of habitat loss by altering the management of road verges and green spaces. Carolyn Thomas, MS, has highlighted the potential environmental benefits of this change, suggesting that the verges could become natural wildlife corridors. She said: "Adopting new approaches to grassland management allows us to give biodiversity a boost while continuing to meet the needs of our communities. "By treating road verges as wildlife corridors, we can combat the nature and climate crisis." The roadside verges across Wales cover an estimated 15,000 hectares – approximately the size of Swansea. With careful management, this area could become one of Wales' most extensive networks of wildflower-rich grasslands. These efforts are deemed crucial, given the estimated decline of more than 90 percent of lowland semi-natural grassland in Wales between the 1930s and 1990s. Denbighshire County Council is a model of this approach, with their project treating verges and urban green spaces as wildflower meadows. The council collects seeds from these sites and grows native plants in their nursery, ensuring that all new planting is locally sourced and ecologically sound. The roadside verges across Wales cover an estimated 15,000 hectares (Image: Supplied) The number of species increased from around 40 to 120 after just four years of management. However, only a few councils in Wales have committed to 'No Mow May' this year. Mark Schofield, road verges and green spaces advisor at Plantlife, said: "There may be reasons some local authorities feel compelled to mow in May, but if we're serious about restoring native wildflowers, we need to move from short-term tidy-ups to long-term transformation. "No Mow May is a great place to start — but leaving some open space unmown for longer can support the lifecycles of a huge diversity of wildlife that depend on less disturbed wildflower-rich grassland." The campaign is also encouraging individuals to reduce mowing in their gardens. Ms Thomas said: "We're encouraging more people across Wales to help and connect with wildlife in their gardens by letting the wildflowers grow and being part of the No Mow Movement, starting in May and continuing through the summer." Around a third of people in Wales still mow their own lawns twice a month during the summer. Plantlife is urging more to join the movement and let nature lead, allowing 'No Mow May' to continue into June.
BBC News
01-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
No Mow May - People urged to leave their grass to grow long
Wildlife trusts and environmental charities are joining calls for people to take part in No Mow campaign urges gardeners to avoid mowing their lawns to give pollinators, such as bees and butterflies, a boost by allowing wildflowers to Wildlife Trust and nature protection charity, Plantlife, are amongst the organisations supporting the annual McArthy-Thompson, from Avon Wildlife Trust, said: "We've got 23 million gardens in the UK so it's a really important habitat for insects and pollinators." "Over time the grasses will get longer and it will provide more of a habitat for insects that will in turn bring more things to the garden," he is an important time as it is when a lot of birds are looking for food and preparing to build nests. "It's not just bees, we're looking to host a whole variety of invertebrate that need our longer grass to sustain their lifecycles and feed our birds," said Mark Schofield, road verges adviser to Plantlife."By reducing mowing you could produce up to ten times more nectar for insects and the 270 types of bee in the UK," he are currently running a campaign aiming to educate people about the importance of some wildflowers which are commonly considered said dandelions are a prime example - with roughly six dandelions needed to support a bumblebee. No lawn needed Mr McArthy-Thompson said there are plenty of ways for those who do not have access to a lawn to help pollinators."Wildflowers in pots are a great way for pollinators to benefit and doesn't take much knowledge or skill," he also suggested planting Common Knapweed and Common Bird's-Foot-Trefoil, which, he said, will grow quickly and do not take up much decorative flowers such as roses and dahlias are also useful to pollinators, indigenous wildflowers are seen as the best for native pollinators, he added.
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Virginia commissions approve $155 million Manassas rail line agreement
(Virginia Railway Express) Owners of the commuter rail system Virginia Railway Express on Thursday signed off on a five-year, $155 million agreement to purchase the Manassas Line, allowing the system to enhance service reliability and provide control over stations and schedules between Washington D.C. and Northern Virginia. The Manassas Line originates at Union Station in Washington, D.C., and goes to Broad Run in Prince William County. The move will give the rail system ownership of Seminary Yard in Alexandria, allowing the system to enhance the existing freight rail yard and construct a midday storage facility. The ownership rights will also give VRE the Broad Run Corridor from Alexandria to Broad Run, the permanent easement to five station platforms and the permanent commuter rail operating easement along the Manassas Line. On Thursday night, the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission and the Potomac and Rappahannock River Transportation Commission, co-partners of VRE, officially voted at separate meetings to authorize the VRE chief executive officer to execute a funding agreement with the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority (VPRA). The agreement is part of VRE's System Plan 2050 designed to help officials address the public's changing travel patterns, including those of commuting office workers, which have shifted over the past decade. The plan is also focused on maximizing daily riders and expanding daily service offering non-peak and weekend service. 'This is a long-term investment towards the future,' said NVTC Vice Chair Sarah Bagley at the meeting. She also serves as chair of the VRE Operations Board. The decision by the governing bodies comes after VPRA and Norfolk Southern Railway Company agreed to purchase the Manassas Line last summer. In its Manassas Line Funding Agreement with VPRA, VRE committed to a multi-year funding schedule in exchange for four railroad property interests along the Manassas Line. The groups said the properties are 'critical' to VRE's current and future commuter rail operations. The agreement does not identify the specific source or sources of funds for each scheduled payment. However, the deal does provide a general framework for the funding commitment. Under the agreement, VRE is committing to contributing $155 million to VRPA in six approximately equal payments. The final payment is expected to be on July 10, 2029. The NVTC board discussed that while the agreement appears to be an added cost, investing in acquiring the railroad properties will create savings by cutting back on the rising costs of storing rail cars and leasing the Manassas Line. VRE Chief Financial Officer Mark Schofield said on Thursday having its storage yard could also allow the system to enable other operators to store their railcars. 'The property acquisition piece of this was not something that we had maybe contemplated a couple of years ago, but we are making a very positive trade in terms of the cost of the midday storage yard,' Schofield said on Thursday. Fairfax County Supervisor James Walkinshaw added, 'We can't just pick up the railcars and move them to some other track. We're captured (and) that's always a challenging negotiation.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Virginia commissions approve $155 million Manassas rail line agreement
(Virginia Railway Express) Owners of the commuter rail system Virginia Railway Express on Thursday signed off on a five-year, $155 million agreement to purchase the Manassas Line, allowing the system to enhance service reliability and provide control over stations and schedules between Washington D.C. and Northern Virginia. The Manassas Line originates at Union Station in Washington, D.C., and goes to Broad Run in Prince William County. The move will give the rail system ownership of Seminary Yard in Alexandria, allowing the system to enhance the existing freight rail yard and construct a midday storage facility. The ownership rights will also give VRE the Broad Run Corridor from Alexandria to Broad Run, the permanent easement to five station platforms and the permanent commuter rail operating easement along the Manassas Line. On Thursday night, the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission and the Potomac and Rappahannock River Transportation Commission, co-partners of VRE, officially voted at separate meetings to authorize the VRE chief executive officer to execute a funding agreement with the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority (VPRA). The agreement is part of VRE's System Plan 2050 designed to help officials address the public's changing travel patterns, including those of commuting office workers, which have shifted over the past decade. The plan is also focused on maximizing daily riders and expanding daily service offering non-peak and weekend service. 'This is a long-term investment towards the future,' said NVTC Vice Chair Sarah Bagley at the meeting. She also serves as chair of the VRE Operations Board. The decision by the governing bodies comes after VPRA and Norfolk Southern Railway Company agreed to purchase the Manassas Line last summer. In its Manassas Line Funding Agreement with VPRA, VRE committed to a multi-year funding schedule in exchange for four railroad property interests along the Manassas Line. The groups said the properties are 'critical' to VRE's current and future commuter rail operations. The agreement does not identify the specific source or sources of funds for each scheduled payment. However, the deal does provide a general framework for the funding commitment. Under the agreement, VRE is committing to contributing $155 million to VRPA in six approximately equal payments. The final payment is expected to be on July 10, 2029. The NVTC board discussed that while the agreement appears to be an added cost, investing in acquiring the railroad properties will create savings by cutting back on the rising costs of storing rail cars and leasing the Manassas Line. VRE Chief Financial Officer Mark Schofield said on Thursday having its storage yard could also allow the system to enable other operators to store their railcars. 'The property acquisition piece of this was not something that we had maybe contemplated a couple of years ago, but we are making a very positive trade in terms of the cost of the midday storage yard,' Schofield said on Thursday. Fairfax County Supervisor James Walkinshaw added, 'We can't just pick up the railcars and move them to some other track. We're captured (and) that's always a challenging negotiation.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
