Anyone who has travelled along Wicklow’s rural roads this spring must have noticed the hedgerows, with their glorious floral display, first of blackthorn and then of hawthorn. Breathtaking. Beautiful. Uplifting. But also good for nature, with the flowers providing food for foraging bees and other insects, which in turn provide food for birds. In the autumn the berries with provide further food. Roadside verges and field boundaries, if left wild, also are a vital source of both cover and food for wildlife. There is a need to increase the extent of native plants (both trees and wildflowers) to help biodiversity and reduce the rate of species extinction. Anyone with a garden can let a corner go wild, sow a wildflower meadow, no matter how small, leave odd patches of nettles, let a few thistles and dandelions go to seed etc., as all are great food sources for wildlife.