Wherever you live in Monmouthshire, you will know that we have a wonderful green county. National parks, river valleys, sweeping hills, woodland, lovely open spaces. And now, in the sunny summer, most of us have had a really good chance to appreciate the nature all around us.

I am particularly proud of the way in which we, together with scores of community groups, are making our county thrive. It is a living example of Monmouthshire united.

Although we have superb natural resources, keeping your surroundings at their best doesn’t happen by accident. Our approach is called ‘Nature Isn’t Neat’, which encapsulates what it is about and one of the key challenges. This campaign started more than a decade ago and has developed into a wider approach, shaped by practical experience and shared and promoted throughout Gwent with the Green Grid Partnership - a collaboration of five local authorities.

At its core, Nature Isn't Neat is about managing land more thoughtfully, mowing and cutting only where and when we need to, giving nature more space where we can and reducing reliance on pesticides and herbicides. By allowing more areas to flower and reducing unnecessary interventions, we are providing pollinators with the food, shelter and breeding opportunities they need to survive and thrive.

We still keep grass short where it’s needed for access and safety— such as for paths, sight lines, junction visibility, play areas and sports pitches. Also for firebreaks, which are especially important in the extended dry weather and heatwaves we are now experiencing.

But wherever we can, we allow grass to grow longer, so plants can flower and set seed, and create better conditions for wildlife habitat and wildlife corridors. Where conditions allow, we use cut and collect machinery where an area is cut after flowering and seeding and the cuttings are removed so that wildflowers have a better chance to establish over time. So sites are still maintained, but differently.

And it’s working: a recent assessment of Abergavenny described it having the best b-lines (insect pathways) in the whole of Britain.

I understand when some people think our approach is less tidy or different to that they have been used to. But it is not about cost cutting or laziness and safety is not compromised – for example in relation to visibility at road junctions.

We try hard to help people understand that longer grass is a deliberate management choice, not neglect. That nature is responding positively and that this is all, in a co-ordinated way, playing a part in preserving our precious planet, helping it to survive.