Conservation and Biodiversity

Within the city there are many habitat types such as unimproved grassland, woodland, formal parks, veteran trees, watercourses and scrub. Our aim is to work towards increased habitat richness and diversity within all sites. As part of our maintenance, we endeavour to use the most sympathetic solution. For instance, we have controlled Japanese Knotweed and Hogweed by lethal injection to prevent destruction of the surrounding flora. With Himalayan Balsam, we strim off the flowers in advance of seeding to avoid the use of herbicide.

We are retaining more long grass than ever before, allowing grass to grow long under trees and along hedgerows to create wildlife habitats at cemetery sites and highway verges. With regard to Tree and Woodland management, we prune only where necessary and retain deadwood habitats where appropriate, such as allowing dead timber stands and habitat stacks to benefit ‘saproxylic’ (deadwood) invertebrates.


Volunteers at Primrose Hill community woodland

The ‘More Trees for Bath and North East Somerset’ group are strong supporters of Bath in Bloom. They have now planted over 3,500 trees and over the past year have:

• Given trees away in Lansdown and Odd Down,
• Worked with members of the Bath in Bloom Committee to give trees away in Moorfields;
• Planted 11 trees at Weston Park East, and mulched the hundreds already planted there;
• Campaigned against legal and illegal tree felling at Weston Farm Lane/The Weal;
• Launched a hyper-local carbon-offset scheme;
• Planted fruit trees at Chandag School, Keynsham;
• Planted cherry trees at Midsomer Norton Cricket Ground

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