Page 7 - ALG Issue 1 2025

NATIONAL PLANT
5-12 May 2025
National Plant Health Week is an annual designated week of action to raise public awareness and engagement on how to keep our plants healthy.
It is a collaborative effort by over 30 organisations across the UK who are committed to protecting the health of our nation’s plants and trees.This year, we are celebrating the importance of being a good plant health citizen.The week
also incorporates the United Nations International Day of Plant Health.
Actions you can take year-round to be a good plant health citizen:
• Look out for signs of pests and diseases on your local trees - report these through TreeAler t. This information supports important tree health monitoring and surveillance work, contributes to ongoing scientific research, and helps to protect the nation’s trees.
• ‘Don’t risk it!’ Don’t bring plant material (plants, trees, fruit and seeds) into the UK from trips abroad.These might be carrying harmful pests and diseases.
• Buy your plants and trees responsibly. Source plants from reputable nurseries and suppliers. If you are buying plants online, buy from a UK-based supplier where possible,
to reduce the risk of harmful pests and diseases entering the country. Check out theYouTubeVideo:‘Buying Responsibly with Pippa Greenwood’.
• Keep it clean by cleaning boots, bikes and buggies before visiting woodlands and parks, otherwise you could spread harmful organisms like fungi, bacteria and insects.
SNIPPETS
SOIL
The World at Our Feet
Somerset House presents SOIL: The World at Our Feet, a landmark exhibition unearthing the wonder of soil, its unbreakable bond to all life, and the vital role it plays in our planet’s future.
Focusing on the inter-connection of soil and all life, SOIL brings together a range of stories and responses from a group of global artists, writers and scientists. Included in the exhibition is work by ceramicist Kim Norton who has just completed an artist in residency at Stuart Rd Allotments in London.You can read more about that in Issue 2 of this magazine.
Combining sensory artworks, historical objects, scientific artefacts and documentary evidence, it
sets out to inspire and educate visitors about the power and the fragility of soil, its fundamental
role in human civilisation, and its remarkable potential to heal our planet. 23 January – 13 April 2025, Embankment Galleries.
For more info: https://www. somersethouse.org.uk/whats-on/soil
HEALTH WEEK
HEDGEHOGS
AT RISK
In the UK hedgehog numbers have reduced by an estimated 16-33% over the past ten years and it is now considered to be “near threatened” on the IUCN Red List.
Numbers of the Western European hedgehog are thought to have shrunk in more than half the countries where
it lives, including the Norway,
Sweden, Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and Austria.
Our plots can be a vital resource for hedgehogs, with surveys revealing that urban hedgehogs are faring better
than their rural counterparts, whose numbers have declined
by over 75% in the last 10 years. The NAS website contains some useful tips to help hedgehogs and wildlife to thrive.
Allotment and Leisure Gardener | Issue 1 2025 | 7