We Should Mow It All!
By Alicia
February 2025
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How do we start conservations about biodiversity? Whilst I find myself often having these discussions with other ecologists and nature enthusiasts, the opportunity to speak to the public arises less frequently.
Nothing ignites these conversations better than surveying biodiversity in a public space. On all occasions that I have been in the field investigating biodiversity, strangers have asked me what I was doing. This often quickly segues into a conversation about wildlife in the area, my life as an ecology student or their own personal relationship with the environment.
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The value of this dialogue became evident to me whilst I spent 6 weeks mapping species on university-managed land as a Biodiversity Monitoring Intern for the University of St Andrews. This was a project I undertook alongside six other students in the summer of 2024. Whilst the first three weeks were spent with Em of the Biodiversity Literacy VIP, and fellow Ecology and Conservation student Eve, the final three were a solo adventure.
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Dog-walkers, tourists and the university’s security and response team were perplexed by my activities. This was understandable, considering I was spending 8 hours a day photographing the ground, with waterproofs undoubtedly on and a podcast playing in my headphones. I joked with the other interns that no one would question us if we just threw a Hi-Vis over our fieldwork gear. Once I reassured people that I was, in fact, working for the university, they were intrigued to hear the purpose of my work.
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As an extension of the Biodiversity Literacy VIP, this internship focused on the use of Q-GIS to record species across plants, trees, fungi, amphibians, birds and mammals. My efforts were focused on the area surrounding David Russell Apartments (DRA) and the North Haugh. Whilst both landscapes include ponds, there was a great difference in observed species. The diversity within each taxon that I was completely oblivious to astounded me. I haven’t been able to take a walk since without acknowledging the different plants popping up, the lichens on trees or bird calls that I recognise.
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In just a small patch of mown lawn, I had no idea there were so many plant species. I spent two weeks independently mapping plants and trees around DRA, resulting in thousands of records. This was no small task, but my knowledge of common garden species jumped from the classic daisy, clover and dandelion to crane’s-bill, speedwell, groundsel, trefoil, tare, sowthistle and selfheal. All of these and more could be found in just 10m2 mown grass. The unmown grass was a whole different story. In addition to dozens of species of grass, there were hoverflies, butterflies and bees atop ragwort, knapweed and oxeye daisies, and more to identify. These small patches of meadow were most similar to the watershed of the North Haugh Pond, but without the addition of aquatic species.
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One of my highlights of the summer was observing juvenile frogs hopping between the North Haugh Pond and the Swilken Burn. I learnt rapidly that the surrounding area of the pond was teeming with wildlife during the summer months, and it was essential to watch where you placed every step. There was more than one occasion where I practically stumbled over adventurous young frogs and sunbathing dragonflies and damselflies. One of my favourite wildlife photographs, as very much an amateur, was of a Common Darter. Prior to carrying out this internship, I had never been able to observe the intricacies of a dragonfly so closely. Thanks to the UK Wildlife Podcast, I was able to simultaneously delve into the biology of this taxon whilst watching for a flicker of colour in the long grass or over the still water. ​​
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A map of the North Haugh Pond in St Andrews and animals found around it. From left to right: a juvenile Common Frog, a Common Darter and a Canary-Shouldered Thorn Moth.
This internship was far from a 9 to 5, with our schedule working by nature’s clock. The best time to see and hear birds was early in the morning, whilst dragonflies and damselflies wouldn’t be flying until they had warmed up around midday. Transects to detect bats would be carried out at dusk, and moth traps set up at night. Moth traps, consisting of a light, power source and bucket of egg cartons, would be revisited before dawn, usually at around 4am. Each egg carton would be carefully inspected for moths and every individual photographed for later identification. Whilst the majority of these moths were varying shades of brown, the Canary-Shouldered Thorn moth had a distinctive vivid yellow thorax.
As a result of this internship, I was inspired to help lead a Biodiversity Walk in Autumn 2024. I had the opportunity to share my fascination with the wildlife found around the North Haugh pond with fellow students. Whilst it was the wrong time of year to see dragonflies and damselflies, we were lucky enough to see a buzzard near the pond and a kingfisher later on our route. Nothing can quite describe my excitement at seeing that flash of blue over the Kinnessburn. This was a route that I had walked maybe hundreds of times, but my very first time ever seeing the bird which I had watched countless times on nature documentaries.
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It is certainly not the case that everyone feels the same about leaving areas of wildness. I heard comments along the lines of “We should mow it all!” from strangers more than once during the summer. Whilst this was evidently an attempt at humour, it wasn’t quite as entertaining to find the next morning that the species I had recorded the previous day had been cut within an inch of their life. The importance of meadows for pollinators and wildlife has been long understood but this requires management by groundskeepers and often the quick fix is a couple of hours and a lawn mower. We need to continue to grow conversations about biodiversity to advocate for positive change in familiar spaces. As an important stakeholder, even passing discussions with the public can help to invite nature back into St Andrews.