A Gentle Reminder
A resident and daily user of Alice Holt Forest has contacted us to voice their concern regarding the increasing presence of dog poo bags festooned from trees and bushes and on the pathways.
Most dog walkers intend to collect the bags when returning to their cars but some bags remain there for several days. Few would aver that the presence of the bags in the natural environment is attractive. No one would decorate their Christmas trees with said items.
Notwithstanding the above, bagging dog faeces is far more preferable than leaving the faeces in the open. As well as parents and children stepping in them, the phosphorus and nitrogen they contain encourage fast growing, nutrient demanding shrubbery at the expense of less robust and greedy plants and thus threaten biodiversity. The Alice Holt Community Forum tells me that parts of the forest that have certain specific wild plants support fairly rare moths and butterflies.
Solutions to avoid this unappealing propect might be:-
- Perhaps carrying a bag to contain the poo bag(s) might work?
- Are the bins being cleared regularly?
- Are there enough of them – in the right places?
Comments – constructive preferably – and solutions would be welcome. rowledgeresidents@gmail.com*
A subtle hint:-
Dog faeces and urine could be harming nature reserves, according to new study – BES
*Note that emails to the above address only go to committee members.
