THE Environment Department stands accused of eco vandalism. Geraldine and Clive Silk made the allegation over the way in which the verge in Petit Bot valley has been cut.
They were horrified to see that the wild flowers had been strimmed down by contractors understood to have carried out the work on behalf of the department.
‘They’ve just decimated it right down to the bare ground and it’s barren,’ said Mrs Silk.
‘If teenagers had done this with bicycles, there would be uproar, but because it’s the States, they get away with it.’
Bluebells, campion, wild garlic and primroses had all been cut and Mrs Silk said it was too early in the season. The date for cutting hedges had been set - to mid-June - to stop this sort of thing happening.
‘Plants have not been given the time to reseed and some of the flowers may never grow back,’ she said.
‘The primroses will probably survive but there has been no time to let the goodness go back into the bulbs.’
The Silks, who live at Les Martins, regularly walk the area with their dog.
‘It’s so beautiful down there and they’ve made it look horrible. I’m shocked that such a thing could happen.’
Mrs Silk’s sister and brother-in-law, both keen birdwatchers, are staying with her at the moment.
‘They just can’t believe how many primroses we have in Guernsey and how wild flowers can be cut down in such a way,’ said Mrs Silk.
‘It’s something that did not need doing.’
The ecological cycle would also be affected as many creatures, such as insects, were territorial and their habitat had now gone, she said.
South-East deputy Francis Quin said he did not think there had been any wrongdoing.
‘They’ve done nothing down there that they haven’t been doing for years and it was mostly wild garlic,’ he said.
The Environment Department is expected to respond today.
Article posted on 25th April, 2007 - 12.00am
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