The Living Highways Project has been running since 2001 and was set up as collaboration between a number of organizations to increase awareness of the issues associated with road verge habitats within the jurisdiction of Powys County Council (PCC). Since 2003 it has been spearheaded by Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust with a dedicated Living Highways Project Officer imbedded within PCC.
Road verge habitats are vital to biodiversity within the countryside because they contain some of the last remaining examples of species-rich habitats. These types of habitats support local and nationally important species such as the dormouse and represent a simple opportunity for Powys to fulfil EU obligations. At the moment there are 106 Road Verge Nature Reserves (RVNRs) and these are being monitored on an annual basis by a series of volunteers across all there Powys shires to ensure the designated management is effective.
The project is about more than RVNRs as it has always been involved with ground breaking ideas for road verge management (e.g. road verge harvesting trial 2004 - see 2006 report for more information), and we will continue to spearhead projects outside the boundaries of traditional road verge management, such as:
- Harvesting seed from local sources for use in habitat creation and restoration schemes
- Establishing new plant communities on species poor, or highly disturbed, road verges
- Manipulating verges to support species movement between sites and throughout Powys
If you would like any more information about the Living Highways Project and/or would like to become a volunteer, please feel free to get in touch with us.
