Biodiversity loss is occurring due to the voracious depletion of natural stocks by an ever-increasing human population. Yet the more intact an ecosystem, the more resilient it will be in the face of climate change. It is therefore essential, that wherever possible, policies and practices to protect and promote biodiversity are enacted by those that manage and are responsible for our land. In Ireland significant areas of land are managed by county councils, who recently have adopted more sustainable, and biodiversity focused management approaches. The aim of this thesis was to assess different management approaches on public open spaces as a basis for developing guidelines and policies. Using pollinators as proxies for biodiversity, surveys were conducted on several urban and agricultural sites, and roundabouts, where it was determined that species abundance and diversity of pollinators was significantly higher on low-intensity farmland and unmanaged ornamental wildflower roundabouts. An additional aim of this thesis was to determine the effectiveness of glyphosate-based herbicides and glyphosate alternatives to control vegetation and their effect on the soil microbiome. On a controlled greenfield site and a road verge the glyphosate treatment Roundup Flex and an alternative treatment, Hot Foam successfully reduced vegetation. The Hot Foam affected the abundance of the fungi; however, the abundance and diversity of the soil fungi and bacteria fluctuated in part due potentially due to abiotic factors. The key findings through this research suggests Hot Foam is a more sustainable alternative to glyphosate. The results of this thesis have yielded practical and environmentally sustainable steps to improve biodiversity on public lands. Among these steps is the principle that the most effective means of enhancing biodiversity may simply derive from the acceptance that wild and unkempt often trumps neat and tidy. To convince the public to recognise this, our county councils will play a key role.