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Prof Duncan Westbury Profile
Prof Duncan Westbury

@DuncanWestbury

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Professor of Sustainable Agriculture, Dean of Land & Property Management - Royal Agricultural University. Advocate of Gardening for Wildlife. Views are my own.

Malvern, England
Joined May 2018
Don't wanna be here? Send us removal request.
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
1 month
I lost my much loved Mum to Parkinson's. To raise funds to help find a cure I am having an Open Garden I will be providing guided tours, advice, wildflower plants to buy etc, If you can't make it, please consider making a donation. Thank you! @GWandShows
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
1 year
Last week on a train back from Brighton I got chatting to a gentleman that lives fairly close to me. He owns some land on which this meadow is flourishing! No organisation has ever documented this parcel of land (about 9 acres), and I can't wait to visit in the summer! @WorcsWT
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
1 year
Should garden centres etc stop selling invasive non-native species? Laurel is one of my BIG dislikes!
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
5 years
In my raspberries today, an elephant hawk moth caterpillar! @LGSpace @Team4Nature @ukmoths @MothIDUK
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
1 year
It’s started! Today I spoke to the manager of a small garden centre & they totally understood the issues of Laurel. They will now look to take this further. I’m hoping this will be my first outlet to stop selling it! #NoLaurelWorc @NaturalEngland @DefraNature @WorcsWT
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
5 years
Many birds need short turf and not tall wildflower meadows. If you can't devote your lawn to wildflowers please consider not killing off any ants. This green woodpecker is having a feast today! @LGSpace @Team4Nature @IoloWilliams2 @Natures_Voice @Kate_Bradbury
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
1 year
I’ve had enough of improper use of herbicides. 2 years ago this hedge bank was amazing and then it got sprayed.
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
4 years
An ancient woodland indicator, Wood anemone, why because it mainly grows vegetatively and spreads slowly. Every year I take a photo of this same patch. 3-yrs between these photos @BSBIbotany @LGSpace @WoodlandTrust @BiodiversitySoS @blue_campaign1
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
1 year
The #BumbleBird patch from a different perspective! This time from within my wildflower strip!
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
1 year
My #BumbleBird patch as recently seen on #GardenersWorld . Feeding the birds, bees, & butterflies, plus lots more! Year 2 very different with the biennials now dominating. @CotswoldSeeds @BumblebeeTrust @Natures_Voice
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
2 years
How to get rid of a parking problem...sow a wildflower mix! @worcester_uni @EstatesUw #WorcestershireHour @WorcsWT @LGSpace @Team4Nature @blue_campaign1 @B_Strawbridge @UW_Sustain
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
1 year
Truly excited - I'm on Gardeners' World tomorrow night at 9pm @BBC2 to tell everyone about the gardening for wildlife I do at home. @GWandShows @TheMontyDon #GardenersWorld #EnvManSus @worcester_uni
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
3 months
An ancient woodland indicator, Wood anemone. Why? Because it mainly grows vegetatively and spreads slowly. Every year I take a photo of this same patch. Photos below from 2017 & 2024 @BSBIbotany @LGSpace @WoodlandTrust
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
1 year
Lawns can flower if you just raise the cutting height to at least 6cm. Please try!
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
1 year
An ancient woodland indicator, Wood anemone. Why? Because it mainly grows vegetatively and spreads slowly. Every year I take a photo of this same patch. Photos below from 2023, 2020 & 2017 @BSBIbotany @LGSpace @WoodlandTrust @BiodiversitySoS @blue_campaign1
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
3 years
It works! I’ve just been following a hedgehog around the garden and it used the gap I left in our new fence! Please do what you can to help our hedgehogs! @BiodiversitySoS @LGSpace @hedgehogsociety @Kate_Bradbury @IoloWilliams2
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
5 years
Wildflower "lawns"- not just for bees! BUT, birds need the bees! @Natures_Voice @_BTO @LGSpace @Team4Nature @WorcsWT @Kate_Bradbury @WildlifeMag @HerefordshireWT @B_Strawbridge @martinRSPB @SteveOrmerod
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
1 year
Surely every garden needs this “weed”? Red dead nettle (Lamium purpureum) which is already feeding early emerged queen bumblebees on our #WorcUniversity campus. @BumblebeeTrust @WorcsWT @LGSpace @BiodiversitySoS
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
2 years
My favourite area of our garden...it used to be a lawn. @LGSpace @katemacrae @BiodiversitySoS @blue_campaign1 @ARC_Bytes @WorcsWT @WLGForum @Garden4Wildlife @B_Strawbridge
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
3 years
Consider this. If you can’t resist cutting your lawn every week, raise the cutting height to max. Many more flowers with high cut than short, but no cut still better! @Love_plants @BiodiversitySoS @LGSpace @NatureUK @Team4Nature @WorcsWT
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
4 years
We are fast approaching the hungry gap for birds, and if like me you kept your teasels uncut, you might be thanked by goldfinches @Natures_Voice @DaveGoulson @LGSpace @Team4Nature @WorcsWT
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
1 year
Oh dear someone has messed up! @EcoDevMHDC @MalvernHills_DC
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
5 years
If you don’t have space for wildflower areas or lawns, consider creating your own wildflower hanging basket. @LGSpace @Team4Nature @WorcsWT @Kate_Bradbury
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
1 year
@harmsy @NaturalEngland @DefraNature @WorcsWT Thanks for the interest! It’s a non-native invasive species that is contributing to the biodiversity emergency by spreading into woodlands, hedgerows, scrub etc. It out competes other plant species reducing diversity. If you like bluebell woods you shouldn’t like Laurel!
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
1 year
What was once lawn is now in Year 2 as a #BumbleBird patch as recently featured on #GardenersWorld @GWandShows (Episode 7). It’s alive!!
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
1 year
Dandelions are great, but at the moment in Malvern, red dead nettle is flowering profusely! Yet to see dandelions…. #DoNotCut
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
11 months
Oh dear Alan, I can’t believe what you have been reported as stating “A rewilded garden will offer nothing but straw and hay from August to March”. ⁦ @TitchmarshShow ⁩ ⁦ @LGSpace ⁩ ⁦ @katemacrae ⁩ ⁦ @Kate_Bradbury ⁩ ⁦ @joshual951 ⁩
Alan Titchmarsh warns against ‘ill-considered’ rewilding trend in domestic gardens

The ‘Love Your Garden’ host has previously expressed concerns over the practice

www.independent.co.uk
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
1 year
Not a lot of people know this: Yellow rattle #Rhinanthus doesn’t just parasitise grass, host selection is random! If it latches onto a legume like white clover (as in picture) it does much better than on grass. It can form connections with multiple hosts too.
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
3 years
Last year this was a closely mown lawn @worcester_uni We changed that, a classic ‘Rags to Riches’ story for biodiversity! @BiodiversitySoS @LGSpace @MeadowInGarden @WorcsWT @UW_Sustain @uowcampus
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
2 years
This sign is working! Normally this patch would have been cut at least three times by now, but wildlife prevails! Great to see the sequence from dandelions to buttercups! What will be next!? @WorcsWT
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
1 year
I’ve grown on lots of native wildflower plants for a local independent garden centre to encourage more people to go native with their borders this spring #NotForProfit
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
5 years
Part 1 - My meadow, what I did to create this wildflower strip @LGSpace @Team4Nature @Team4NatureBham @ExtinctionR @Kate_Bradbury
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
5 years
8 years in the making and still getting better! @LGSpace @MeadowInGarden @michaelastracha @Kate_Bradbury @IoloWilliams2 @WorcsWT @Team4Nature #wildflowerhour
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
1 year
This is what we call an #EcologicalTrap . The species commits but doesn’t know what’s round the corner, a bit like what #NoMowMay does to many species each year if people cut on June 1st
@DJMarti28657381
DJMartin
@DJMarti28657381
1 year
#curlew looking for her nest after #silage cutting today 😞 how do we move away from this....
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
4 years
Today I covered all my drains with mesh to save thousands of lives. Please do the same! Raise awareness, please RT. @WorcsWT @BiodiversitySoS @Team4Nature @LGSpace @IoloWilliams2 @B_Strawbridge
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
2 years
Newland Meadow needs your HELP!!! With disbelief I read the ecology report for 130 homes on this ancient species-rich meadow: "Limited herb content" We cannot lose grassland like this. Please follow the link & submit an OBJECTION. @SaveThisMeadow
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
4 years
This autumn I created additional habitat piles in my garden to support newts, hedgehogs, voles, mice, and mini beasts! @LGSpace @Team4Nature
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
24 days
It must be remembered that yellow rattle #Rhinanthus also supports numerous insects directly! It’s not just a “meadow maker”
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
5 years
I simply love this! @sepponet
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
5 years
If looking for a late flowering, soil improving species for your garden, chicory is great for garden beneficials too! @LGSpace @Team4Nature
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
1 year
Cut your lawn higher to feed wildlife! Here a 'family' of sparrows are only able to feed on unripe seed of sticky mouse-ear chickweed (Cerastium glomerata) becuase I cut high. #MakeAChange4Wildlife #SpeciesRichLawn
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
3 years
I put up a new fence & side gate, but made allowances for our hedgehogs! @hedgehogsociety @BiodiversitySoS @LGSpace
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
1 year
This tweet has caused a lot of discussion as intended. If pheasant release is so good for the UK flora & fauna how many should we release to reverse the decline in farmland birds and other species? What about 150 million?
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
4 years
Back at University today for the first time in nearly 6 months. Great to see this wildflower strip survived, but that is the beauty of going wild, nature looks after itself! @LGSpace @UW_Sustain @worcester_uni
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
2 years
Please can someone explain to me why it is NOT standard practice for all new builds to be fitted with solar panels? We have to offset biodiversity, but what about the climate impacts? It should be mandatory for all ‘affordable housing’ ⁦ @GeorgeMonbiot ⁩ ⁦ @RosieP4 ⁩
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
4 years
Here’s one I made earlier! ⁦ @LGSpace ⁩ ⁦ @WildlifeTrusts ⁩ ⁦ @MeadowInGarden ⁩ ⁦ @blue_campaign1 ⁩ ⁦ @IoloWilliams2 ⁩ ⁦ @B_Strawbridge ⁩ ⁦ @michaelastracha ⁩ ⁦ @TheMontyDon ⁩
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
5 years
Busy bees. These Andrenids (mining bees) have popped up in my lawn in 24hrs. They will only nest in short turf, so don’t feel bad if you can’t leave all your lawn uncut! @LGSpace @Team4Nature @JeffOllerton @StevenFalk1 @NHM_Bees
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
1 year
This used to be lawn but created a mini-woodland canopy with hazel, small-leaved lime, wild service trees, and a beech. #MakeAChange4Wildlife
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
3 years
This used to be a herbaceous border of non-natives transformed into a wildlife strip! @LGSpace @BiodiversitySoS @Love_plants @MeadowInGarden #GardenersWorld
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
5 years
Looking for newts in my wildlife pond and found a water scorpion! Common in the UK, but a new species to me! @PondRiverStream @WorcsWT
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
5 years
Rescued a cold and wet bee today and revived it on strawberry nectar in my greenhouse. No need for a sugar solution! ⁦ @NHM_Bees ⁩ ⁦ @LGSpace ⁩ ⁦⁦ @WorcsWT ⁩
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
1 year
Surely acts of dedication like this should be rewarded with a reduction in their council tax? They are saving the council so much! @HfdsCouncil @bbcmtd @bbchw
@bbchw
BBC Hereford & Worcester
@bbchw
1 year
Meet the #Herefordshire man on a mission to rid the county of litter 🥰🤩🥰
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
3 years
Absolutely delighted, I have just been given permission to turn this area of regularly mown grass into a field of poppies (native of course!) @worcester_uni @UW_Sustain @LGSpace @blue_campaign1 @WorcsWT #EnvManSus
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
1 year
If you could release 47 million individuals of any UK species into the wild each year, without having to worry about the impacts, what would it be!?
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
4 months
The key thing about this oak being so old and big is that it has a history of being pollarded. These days this rarely happens. We MUST do more pollarding, yes it impacts the look of the tree for this generation but…. @WoodlandTrust
@TheKentAcorn
The English Oak Project
@TheKentAcorn
4 months
Find me a bigger oak. I’ll wait 😎🌳
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
1 year
If you liked the #EarwigShelter I demonstrated on #GardenersWorld , here’s a much smaller one that can be hung directly on plants like broad beans, peas, blueberries, blackcurrants etc @GWandShows @TheMontyDon @The_RHS
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Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
1 month
Bugle & Cowslips - what a combination!
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
3 years
I left a gap under this gate for hedgehogs & glad I did! @BiodiversitySoS @LGSpace @hedgehogsociety @Kate_Bradbury @IoloWilliams2 @HedgehogCabin
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
11 months
Marbled White enjoying nectar from this Teasel in my #BumbleBird patch, perhaps it should be renamed a #BumbleButBird patch! @BumblebeeTrust @savebutterflies @Natures_Voice
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
3 years
When do we draw the line & say no more loss of species-rich grassland? This land in Newland, Malvern is being surveyed for a housing development. I am left speechless. @WorcsWT @NEFieldUnit @NaturalEngland @spp_Rich @clare_pinches @BiodiversitySoS @NatureUK @Love_plants
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
5 years
Mulched mown lawn or wildflower strips -what looks best at the University of Worcester? Still need to convince managers that we need to make space for more wildflower areas. Please see poll linked to this tweet & RT. @LGSpace @Team4Nature @Team4NatureBham @WorcsWT @worcester_uni
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
1 year
Just did the nightly check on the hedgehog feeding station and tonight I have just been confronted with a GCN out in the open! @PondRiverStream @ARC_Bytes @WorcsWT
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
5 years
Hungry for pollen. Late flowering common poppy helps support beneficial species in my garden today. #IndianSummer ⁦ @LGSpace ⁩ ⁦ @Team4Nature ⁩ ⁦ @Kate_Bradbury ⁩
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
1 year
I love it when the field scabious starts showing itself in our meadow & the Lady’s bedstraw smells divine! Yes this used to be lawn. @Love_plants @BSBIbotany
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
1 year
Yesterday, my 10 year old daughter & I planted up this strip of lawn with around 150 homegrown wildflower plug plants after cutting the turf as short as possible. #MakeAChange4Wildlife @LGSpace
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
1 year
This is a must for your meadow, not only for its looks but for the smell! Get a waft and it’s hypnotising! Perhaps this is where it gets its name from, Lady’s bedstraw? @WorcsWT @BSBIbotany @donnarainey4
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
3 years
The ‘Rags to Riches’ biodiversity story continues @worcester_uni . Last year this area was closely mown lawn and after sowing with a cornfield mix, yarrow already present is now delivering! @BiodiversitySoS @LGSpace @MeadowInGarden @WorcsWT @UW_Sustain @uowcampus
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
1 year
It works ever year. I leave part of our meadow area uncut over winter, cutting in early March. This provides cover for #Voles over winter that make #Holes for #Bees to nest in.
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
4 years
Go peat-free this spring. No excuses, yes it costs slightly more but Westland now boasts that it out performs peat-based composts. My tomatoes agree! @LGSpace @BiodiversitySoS @GWmag @DaveGoulson @OurSacredGrove
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
1 year
Oh dear @EnvAgency this shouldn’t be happening! @HerefordshireWT @herefordtimes @DaveThroup
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
11 months
And this is why I allow species like poppy to grow in my vegetable patch! #MakeADifference4Wildlife @WorcsWT @LGSpace #GardenersWorld
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
2 months
Who takes a walk with a black permanent marker in their pocket? Clearly one of the locals that needs educating!
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
2 years
If you have just finished watering your flowerbeds then perhaps think about going native! No water, fertilisers, or pesticides needed on our “flowerbed”! @LGSpace @Garden4Wildlife @MeadowInGarden @TheMontyDon
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
4 years
Wow! The meadow vole was enjoying the morning sun at the edge of my meadow left uncut for winter! Wildlife needs variety just like humans. @Mammal_Society @WorcsWT @LGSpace @BiodiversitySoS @blue_campaign1 @IoloWilliams2
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
3 years
Cutting the lawn - look at the different structure when cut on the highest setting (70mm) versus the shortest (20mm). For wildlife and carbon capture & storage this makes a big difference! @LGSpace @thecarbontrust @BiodiversitySoS
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
3 years
Congratulations to @GWandShows and @TheMontyDon this evening for dedicating so much time on exploring peat-free composts. Thank you! #GardenersWorld
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
1 year
If you love goldfinches, now is a great time to sow black knapweed (Cenaturea nigra) so they have something to eat in your garden this July/August! This was filmed in my wildflower strip last year.
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
5 years
If you grow coriander let some flower. It’s superb for hoverflies which will lay eggs on nearby plants or in lagoons. Their larvae are great predators of pests, especially aphids. @AHDB_Hort @GWandShows @HoverflyLagoons @Team4Nature @LGSpace
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
1 year
So lovely to come home this evening & find that my bespoke lawn seed mix has arrived for sowing! The area will be maintained as lawn, but cut to a height of 70mm. Will be interesting to see if the knapweed, scabious & hawkbits can still flower. @LGSpace
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
4 years
If you want to get some great nectar plants for your garden, check out our free access paper from the Urban Pollinators Project @LGSpace @BiodiversitySoS @MeadowInGarden @WorcsWT @Love_plants @BBCSpringwatch
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
1 year
Did you know that acorns grow their roots from autumn and their shoots in spring? This gives them a good start when competing against other vegetation - the race for light. Today I have potted on these local sourced acorns into deeper pots. @WoodlandTrust @TheKentAcorn @WorcsWT
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
1 year
Delighted to have just won the ‘Sustainability Award’ in the Students’ Choice Awards 2023 for my contribution to the University of Worcester and the wider community! ⁦ @worcsu ⁩ ⁦ @worcester_uni ⁩ ⁦ @UW_Sustain ⁩ #EnvManSus
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
4 years
If you like bumblebees it’s not too late to sow foxgloves ready to flower next year. I sowed these last year and now see the benefits! @WorcsWT @LGSpace @blue_campaign1 @BumblebeeTrust
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
1 year
Ok Twitter, please tell me where these “wild flowers” being sold in the UK @LoveWilko are actually wild? @joshual951 @gerrymiah31 @BSBIscience @BSBIbotany
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
6 months
The sequence: 1) Very bare arable soils, 2) No water retention across land, 3) Flooding. Why can’t we get things right? Worryingly, developers want to put 1,000 homes over both parcels of land shown below! @NFUtweets @DefraGovUK @EnvAgencyMids @MalvernHills_DC
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
1 year
I set this up for a colleague last night as we are lucky to support hedgehogs in the garden. Success on getting some prints first time! @Mammal_Society @hedgehogsociety
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
5 years
A compromise. Lawn and wildflower area, delivering multiple benefits for one and all! @LGSpace @Team4Nature @christophhowell @SteveOrmerod @WorcsWT
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
1 year
@mwhbtn @NaturalEngland @DefraNature @WorcsWT They should just pull out, if not try and dig out as much as possible. Replace with box, yew, holly, or wild privet. All of these can be UK native.
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
4 years
This used to be our front lawn and 7-yrs on having planted hazel, small-leaved lime, primroses, snow drops, bluebells and yellow archangel, it is slowly becoming a mini woodland @BiodiversitySoS @LGSpace @Team4Nature
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
3 years
About 10 years ago I drilled lots of deep holes in this ash stump in the year it was felled. It must now be the world’s best created bug hotel! @Buzz_dont_tweet @LGSpace @NatureUK @WildlifeTrusts
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
1 month
What concerns me is the fact that SO many organisations including councils just don’t have the knowledge/understanding of what is needed & what can be achieved by changing regimes. @joshual951
@joshual951
Joshua Styles
@joshual951
1 month
Last year I pointed out that @nationaltrust ’s mowing regime is destroying this ancient heath at Speke Hall, the last example of its kind in Merseyside. It wouldn’t take much to stop mowing here & increase heath without compromising on space. Wld be great to receive a response🌱❤️
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
2 years
Stripping out hedgerows and removing trees is happening far too often and it all impacts on biodiversity, but also increases sound and air pollution. What role do councils have? We are still heading for a very sterile earth. @BiodiversitySoS @LGSpace @NatureUK
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
1 year
I will start small, but am considering engaging with all garden centres etc in Worcestershire to try & stop the sale of Cherry Laurel in this wonderful county. #WorcestershireHour
@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
1 year
Should garden centres etc stop selling invasive non-native species? Laurel is one of my BIG dislikes!
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
2 years
Today I’ve been planting woodland grasses (Brachypodium sylvaticum) into our mini-woodland. Good time to do it as you can see where the bulbs etc are! Plants grown from locally collected seed. @LGSpace @B_Strawbridge @britishwildlife @wildgardening @Garden4Wildlife
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
5 years
Multi-tasking! Pollinating, eating, and mating! Soldier beetles do it all! @Buzz_dont_tweet @EntoProf @Team4Nature @LGSpace
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
5 years
Time to take stock of your wildflower area now the main flower “rush” is over. Is your meadow still producing nectar/pollen? If not, consider adding meadow cranesbill, wild marjoram, teasel, wild carrot, and field scabious. @LGSpace @Team4Nature
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
2 years
Much of my research career has involved putting in wildflower strips into agricultural situations to boost biodiversity and the associated ecosystem services. Here's mine in our garden! @LGSpace @blue_campaign1 @WorcsWT @WLGForum @Garden4Wildlife @katemacrae @Kate_Bradbury
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
1 month
At the #MalvernSpringShow & continue to be concerned that honeybees are seen as being important for nature recovery.
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
5 years
Lots to consider with green manures but #phacelia is great for the soil and if you leave a bit to flower it’s great for bees! @LGSpace @The_RHS @Botanygeek @WLGForum @BBCSpringwatch @GWmag @TheMontyDon
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
18 days
Over the years this box has been home for over 10 broods, the hen is now sitting on a 2nd clutch after one brood fledged successfully.
@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
4 years
Starling numbers down 24% in the past 10 years; I'm doing my bit to help stop this trend, this will be the 7th brood reared from this box in 5 years.
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
5 months
Three Things to do for #Hedgehogs in 2024: 1) Create a gap in fencing 2) Create a habitat pile with a hedgehog shelter underneath 3) Cover down pipe drains with mesh to save beetles, one of their favourite foods. @hedgehogsociety @hedgehoghugh @katemacrae @IoloWilliams2 @LGSpace
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@DuncanWestbury
Prof Duncan Westbury
@DuncanWestbury
1 year
Just went outside to put some warm water out for the hedgehog only to find him/her already having a drink! Absolutely delighted! They’re loving the cat food in the feeding station too. @hedgehogsociety @Mammal_Society @WorcsWT
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