Ashby de la Zouch Town Councillor, TOM STANLEY, writes a monthly environmental column, and explains why biodiversity is been under threat, but can also help our mental health

With the days now lengthening and summer just around the corner, many of us are trying to venture into our gardens despite the constant rainfall that has characterised this wet winter just gone.

Understandably we spend more time outside during the summer months and our gardens have become as personal a space as inside the home. Yet we also share it with wildlife from birds and insects to hedgehogs, worms and insects.

It has been shown that having wildlife nearby and interacting with it either through gardening or simply taking a stroll through a wood enhances our mental health.

However, as a country we are currently in a biodiversity crisis with UK species declining by about 19 per cent on average since 1970, and nearly one in six species (16.1 per cent) are now threatened with extinction according to a 2023 government report.

In Leicestershire, the county council has noted that biodiversity is under threat due to several factors, notably climate change, habitat and species loss and poor water and air quality.

North West Leicestershire District Council has a scheme where free trees are given to residents. Photo: NWLDC

Together with the Leicestershire Wildlife Trust, it has built a Biodiversity Action Plan and noted that: "Leicestershire and Rutland are amongst the poorest counties in the UK for sites of recognised nature conservation value. The very best sites (Sites of Special Scientific Interest or SSSIs) represent only about two per cent of the land area (c. 1.3 per cent for Leicestershire)."

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To increase biodiversity and to support wildlife that is already here, the National Forest was founded in 1995 when only 7.2 per cent of the forest was covered with woodland.

In the intervening 29 years, this coverage has increased to 21 per cent and is a rare biodiversity success story within the UK and Leicestershire.

Locally, North West Leicestershire District Council, in partnership with the National Forest, gives out 30,000 free trees each year to local residents either as standalone trees, or for hedging.

This year will mark the 15th year of the scheme and around 200,000 trees have been given away in that time.

These plans are crucial to ensure the next generation has an Ashby to enjoy, that sits at the heart of a nature-rich and established National Forest.

Ashby de la Zouch Town Council is trying to do its bit with the establishment of a Tiny Forest at Western Park last year, and continued work to make sure the Bath Grounds holds a Green Flag which includes strict environmental criteria.