Two Green county councillors will put forward a motion next week to look at ways to support and protect biodiversity in Gloucestershire.

Gloucestershire is a rural county and home to numerous of species of flora and fauna including wildflowers, plants and fungi. However, the county is changing fast. In 1935, almost 40 per cent of the Cotswolds landscape was covered with wildflower-rich grassland. Since then, unimproved grassland sites make up just 1.5 per cent of the area. Since 1970, Britain has lost 90m wild birds, 40 per cent of all species native to Britain are in decline, and 35 UK species of Bee are heading for extinction. T

On Wednesday 27th June, Cllrs Rachel Smith (Minchinhampton) and Eva Ward (Stroud Central) will put forward a motion that, if passed, will see a working group set up at Shire Hall to look at ways to support and protect biodiversity in the county

Cllr Rachel Smith, who is proposing the motion, said: "What is happening to our countryside is nothing short of a catastrophe. There is research predicting that we only have 100 harvests left, due to the decline in pollinators and lack of biodiversity. We need pollinators for our farms to work. Food production is impossible in a rural county without pollinators, and the loss of bisovdersity will impact how our farms work.

"It will be a joint-effort between the county council, districts, towns and parishes to begin to mend the damage that has been done and to ensure that our countryside is better protected in the future."

The motion also seeks to ensure that highways management systems consider the ecological importance of roadside verges. With the loss of lowland meadows and pastures across the UK, grassy road verges in particular offer vital refuges for plants and wildflowers. The approx. 101,600 hectares of rural road verges in the UK is equivalent to nearly half of our remaining grassland resource.

Cllr Eva Ward, who is seconding the motion, said, "There is a real opportunity here for the county council to show leadership and do something tangible. A simple step like removing grass clippings to allow wild flowers to flourish will make a real difference to the levels of biodiversity in our county, and I'm hopeful that our motion will get cross-party support".