At the Green Network Blueprint launch Max Hislop, Programme Manager for the GCV Green Network Partnership, pointed out he had noticed something was missing on long drives – the many insects that used to get stuck to the car windscreen. The loss of this minor driving inconvenience has a very major impact, as highlighted in the latest UN global assessment report estimating that over 1 million species on the planet are at risk of extinction. The Green Network Blueprint’s ambition is to take action on this issue, but it is not just about biodiversity; it is also very much about people and place.

The project aims to turn Glasgow City Region ‘green’ with 500 miles of walking and cycling routes, together with plans for hundreds of new living spaces for wildlife. The Blueprint presents a masterplan for the creation of a Strategic Green Network across the Glasgow City Region, incorporating an Access Network and a Habitat Network. The Access Network should aid off-road movement through greenspaces and green routes. It will improve links between places people want to go such as shops, places of work and parks and offer opportunities for increasing levels of active travel. The Habitat Network will link up existing wildlife habitats creating new pathways to allow species more freedom of movement and encourage an increase in biodiversity across the area.

The project has already highlighted hundreds of opportunities to create path and habitat networks. Rigorously researching and connecting these opportunities and existing projects across the region into a Blueprint creates a Green Network Framework that should not be ignored. We hope the Green Network becomes a reality and many more of us will be out and about on our bikes or on foot, feeling healthier, enjoying relaxing greenspaces and encountering a varied multitude of wee insects.

 

For more information: https://www.greenspacescotland.org.uk/news/green-network-blueprint-making-connections