by Laura Potts, resident of York and former PAN trustee
Laura organised a recent walk around Bishophill in York, looking at weeds growing on local streets.
The walk was part of York Environment Week 2023 (actually more like a month of community generated events), and inspired by PAN ‘Greener Cities’ publication and webinar. Fifteen people showed up on a mizzly Sunday afternoon and we walked a route of streets, lanes, ginnels and back alleys which the organisers had previously explored. Everyone had been sent the PAN publication – and been invited to make donations to the charity.
Knowledge varied across the group and so it was very much a collaborative process of identifying what we found. We decided to use common or folk names so as not to intimidate with Linnaean Latin, although some participants had fun remembering the Latin as well. The area we walked is in a ward that had opted out of glyphosate spraying for this year – and so there is a rich abundance of species to be seen: over 70 records, including two species never recorded in York before and several unusual sightings. A plant list is available on request.
We also had the opportunity to reflect on the significance of ‘weeds’ in our society: their role as unwelcome outsiders, as resilient and capable of adapting to their environment, and their use in medicine and as food. As one participant wrote afterwards: “The walk was really informative, I learnt a lot as my plant ID is getting very rusty/in need of improving. I also loved the discussion on what the resilience of so-called weeds can teach us about ourselves and our tolerance/acceptance of different aspects of the world around us. It was definitely food for thought”.
An outcome of the walk was that one of the organisers was invited by the city council’s lead on environment to help shape a strategy for phasing out glyphosate use across the city; we have discussed a community development approach that will engage local citizens and children, highlighting public health benefits.
If you would like to organise something similar where you live, you can watch the webinar and download our publication ‘Greener Cities: A guide to the plants on our pavements’. Alternatively, sent the link to our Council, asking them to end the use of pesticides on your streets, pavements, parks and playgrounds.
