IN light of the horrifying United Nations report, stating that we are losing so many of our natural species, we all need to change our Tidy Britain mindset now – both at home and in our neighbourhoods.

Some ideas might include: l Mowing lawns on a higher cut, less often, without weed and feed, so that clover and self-heal could flower.

l Asking, even allowing, the council to cut the roadside verges less often, so that flowers there may encourage pollinators and insects to grow in numbers again.

l Making 13cm x 13cm holes through our boundaries so that hedgehogs (which have declined by 50 per cent since 2000) may move freely among out gardens, churchyards and parks again.

l Leaving the garden tidy up until early spring, so that seed heads might feed birds and foliage provide cover for creatures through winter.

If we aren’t all prepared to sit more lightly on the earth, the price we will pay will be a heavy one.

DIANA CHAMBERS Ilkley Road, Riddlesden

* E-mail your letters to alistair.shand@keighleynews.co.uk