I am extremely privileged to live in Whalley Range. There is a strong sense of community here; we love our streets, we care about gardening, and there are always activities taking place that contribute to making our environment an even more pleasant place to live, despite being so close to Manchester city centre.
Range Road Community Park, Whalley Range.
For those of you who are local, you will know that community leaders have been engaging with Manchester City Council, and have agreed that a triangle of Whalley Range streets are to be kept ‘herbicide free’ this spring and summer. Instead, we will be doing the weeding ourselves. By hand. All helpers welcome!
What are herbicides, and how do they work?
Most herbicides (weed-killers) contain the active ingredient Glyphosate. Glyphosate is a systemic, non-selective herbicide; it can be applied to foliage of any plant, where it then travels through the plant’s entire vascular system, resulting in its death.
In addition to weed-killers for domestic garden use, Glyphosate is used widely in conventional, non-organic, agriculture by applying it before, or at the same time as crops are sown, to kill emerging weed seedlings before they compete with the crop for light, water and nutrients. Glyphosate-based herbicides are also applied to walls, footways and tree-bases in urban areas such as ours, in order to suppress weed growth.
The impact of Glyphosate on the ecosystem
Using Glyphosate to control weeds may seem extremely desirable for stretched farmers and resource-strapped local authorities. It is applied in the open air, so inevitably contaminates the surrounding environment, including the soil, water courses and the atmosphere, with the potential to impact directly on humans, animals and wildlife. Here are a few indirect impacts of using Glyphosate:
1. It’s harmful to pollinators: Many ‘weeds’ are flowering plants that are an important source of food for bees, butterflies, hoverflies and other pollinating insects. Healthy and numerous pollinators are crucial for successful food crop yields.
2. It reduces plants’ resistance to disease: Research has shown that glyphosate blocks plants’ natural defence mechanisms, making them more susceptible to pathogens and disease.
3. It impacts on soil microbes: Soil microbes play a vital part in many essential processes, from decomposing organic matter, to creating topsoil, and the cycling carbon and other nutrients. Soil mycorrhizae are invaluable for enabling plants to take up nutrients. Repeated glyphosate application disrupts this microbial community, resulting in increased levels of soil pathogens and restricted plant nutrient-uptake. Find out more in this document by the Soil Association.
4. It causes decline in the earthworm population: Earthworms are important for breaking down and redistributing organic material in the soil. They make the soil more penetrable to plant roots, thereby improving soil fertility. Glyphosate-based herbicides affect earthworm reproduction, causing a decline in their population
Come and help us keep our streets herbicide free!
If you are local, come along and keep our streets herbicide-free by joining a weeding-working party on any of the dates shown on the poster below. If you’re not local, maybe you could find out if there are any similar community initiatives in your area.
And if you want to find out, and join in with, what the Whalley Rangers are getting up to this year, just keep an eye on the website, or find us on Facebook.
