Orchids on the road (From Tivyside Advertiser)

Orchids on the road

11:21am Wednesday 21st May 2008

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The Highways department of Ceredigion County Council and the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales have teamed up again this year in a bid to improve the management of the roadside verges in Ceredigion for wildlife.

This year, two new sites have been included in the suite of carefully chosen roadside banks that are managed each summer specifically to protect the wildlife in and around the verges.

One of this year's new sites, near Llanfarian, has been chosen following its nomination by a Wildlife Trust member, to protect an orchid species that occurs there, Broad-leaved Helleborine (Caldrist Llydanddail).

The Helleborine flowers between July and September, so this stretch of verge will be managed quite differently to most verges in the county. It won't be cut at all, till September- making sure that these charismatic plants are able to flower fully.

The new sites join the 12 roadside verge nature reserves that have already been carefully managed in partnership between the Wildlife Trust and Ceredigion County Council for the last 5 years, as well as 80 km of road verges in the uplands that now have a wildlife-friendly management regime.

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