Last week I went for a meander around Cathays Cemetery in Cardiff, looking for waxcaps. The cemetery is a SSSI (a Site of Special Scientific Interest) because of its waxcaps, and they are stunning. The SSSI designation is supposed to ensure the site is protected from environmental damage, and managed in a way that benefits the flora and/or fauna that resulted in its designation, but it doesn’t.

All of the beautiful waxcaps pictured in this post would have been destroyed by the end of that day because a council worker was cutting the grass. In fact, I only had time to check a couple of the uncut blocks within the grounds before they too were mown.

This is typical of Cardiff Council’s assault on the natural environment. They’ve been told by ecologists how the cemetery should be managed but they ignore that advice, cut when the waxcaps are fruiting, and leave the clippings.

This is a deliberate decision by the Council; and the situation could easily be remedied either by mowing the grass a little earlier or a little later in the year. And, if budget cuts mean they can’t afford to purchase a mower than removes the clippings, then they could co-ordinate the mowing with the cemetery Friends group and other voluntary groups to rake the clippings. But they don’t.