Whilst much attention is given to the need to protect, restore and extend wild spaces across Scotland, green space within our towns and cities is perliously unprotected, but has the potential to be immensely valuable. Initiatives such as Glasgow City Council's plan to "plant ten trees for every citizen" (link here: https://www.glasgow.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=27099 ) are admirable, but will only be effective if those trees, and the spaces around them, are given adequate protection and intelligent management that prioritises biodiversity, climate resilience and encouraging vulnerable native species. Glasgow in particular is full of areas of "waste ground" that can harbour massive biodiversity, but have zero protection and can be swallowed up by development without adequate consideration of their value as green spaces, both to wildlife and to the communities around them. Any space where things can grow needs to be considered valuable, and treated as such, with expansion of community-owned green spaces that can have mixed use for wildlife, parkland and community food gardens.
This content is created by the open source Your Priorities citizen engagement platform designed by the non profit Citizens Foundation