Leicestershire Verge Biodiversity Project is led by Leicestershire County Council supported by NatureSpot & gives parish councils the opportunity to manage selected road verges for wildlife. Now is the time to get involved. More...
97% of meadows have been lost since the 1930s. The Leicestershire Verge Wildlife Project is now open for expressions of interest for 2026. In 2025 over 60 parish councils managed 80 verges and you can get involved - details here. Questions or expressions of interest need to be sent to Roseanna Burton, Environmental Partnerships Officer by 4pm on 31 January 2026: Roseanna.Burton@leics.gov.uk
Each year sees positive results, such as this report from one project in 2025.
Leicester Road Cropston Wildlife Verge in 2025
The small verge on the corner of Leicester Road and Latimer Road has been left unmown through each summer since 2022 to encourage the growth of wild flowers and to provide food and shelter for other wildlife. Do you remember how hot and dry the spring and summer of 2025 were? This wasn't good for flowers but the ants loved it and the verge became full of anthills. They are the work of the Yellow Meadow Ant (which is actually more of an amber brown colour). These ants might not be welcome in your manicured lawn especially as they are the ones that can bite but of course they have value as wildlife in themselves and they provide food for other species such as green woodpeckers. The anthills also increase the local variety of habitats: they are drier on top, have a sunny side and a shady side, and an interior that is home to specialist species such as the small, white Ant Woodlouse. You have probably seen black or red ants tending colonies of aphids on the leaves and stems of plants. A mirror image of this is also going on underground, where Yellow Meadow Ants tend a different set of aphids that live on plant roots. 2025 was a good year for the Six-Spot Burnet Moth. Their caterpillars live on grasses and were seen weaving their cocoons on grass stems. Then, a few weeks later, the adults emerged to show off their crimson-spotted black wings. The adult Cinnabar moth has a similar colour scheme but is even more stylish, with lines rather than spots a real contrast to their football jersey caterpillars, which are a familiar sight on Ragwort. For a couple of weeks in early June, Welsh Chafer beetles were bumbling about everywhere, including on our verge. The other new beetle to put in an appearance this year was a 22 spot Ladybird. Though they are not rare, the first one you see is a surprise: very small and bright yellow but densely covered in spots and still obviously a kind of ladybird. Three new species of plant were recorded in 2025. The ideal for our verge is that it should be a miniature meadow so it is good that Common Sorrel is now present. The name sorrel refers to the sour taste of the leaves which, like rhubarb, contain oxalic acid. The other two plants are more typical of farmland. Cut-leaved Cranesbill is one of those that soon appears whenever the soil is ploughed and re-sown. There were only scattered records of Bristly Ox tongue when Leicestershire's flora was surveyed in 1979 but it is now common along field margins. The reasons are not understood but the way the species is spreading northwards suggests that climate change is a factor. The species totals are now 76 plants and 54 animals. Not bad for less than the area of a tennis court! The verge has a web page at the address above. The whole Naturespot website is an excellent resource for exploring, identifying and recording wildlife sightings throughout Leicestershire and Rutland. Do visit it and see what you can discover!
Peter Smith