INVESTIGATING ROADSIDE VERGES

Roadside verges are complex ecosystems which need careful management. In the last 30 years policies towards management have changed. Tidy, m own embankments are no longer common and ecological arguments have beg un to play a greater role in restoration plans. Approaches towards man agement ore explored through a class-based, decision-making exercise, whereby A-level students take on the role of consultants approached by a local authority to landscape a stretch of verge beside a newly cons tructed road. The article also includes material useful as background research for an Sd investigation. The potential of the roadside verge for individual A-level fieldwork projects is also explored, although i t is acknowledged that undertaking such work in many locations is too dangerous. Suggested topics include: a survey of colonization before r estoration, an evaluation of a current restoration scheme, a study of plants under stress from de-icing salt, pollutants and wind, and a sur vey of roadside fauna.