A helping hand with hedgerows
More and more hedges are being managed in agri-environment schemes such as Entry Level Stewardship – over 125,000km (nearly 78,000 miles). However, the latest Countryside Survey results show that, overall, the level of managed hedgerows in the UK countryside has declined slightly in the last 10 years, so action is needed to further conserve and enhance our valuable hedgerow heritage and ensure that hedges have a healthy future.
Hedgelink is a new partnership supported by environmental, farming and heritage organisations around the country and forms part of the UK’s Hedgerow Biodiversity Action Plan. The organisation will be drawing on the skills and knowledge that farmers have, and in return provide them with practical advice and support.
With some of the UK’s hedgerows being over a thousand years old, these boundaries form an integral part of our countryside. In the past their uses included marking parish and other boundaries, providing firewood and establishing stock-proof barriers. Although some of these uses remain true, in modern farming hedgerows can play an important part in preventing soil loss (through run-off or erosion) helping to regulate water supply and reducing flooding. In addition they provide valuable habitats and food (particularly over winter) for many animals, farmland birds and plants. Hedgelink can help identify priorities and sources of funding, as well as provide expertise, with member organisations, such as the Country Land & Business Association, National Farmers’ Union, National Hedgelaying Society, Natural England, Defra, RSPB and Butterfly Conservation.
Darren Moorcroft, Head of Conservation Advice at the RSPB, said: “For many farmland birds, hedgerows managed in a sympathetic way can provide a vital source of food as well as safe nest sites. By bringing together the collective expertise of all the organisations represented, Hedgelink offers farmers advice on how best to manage their hedgerows for maximum benefit to them and the wildlife upon which their management depends.”
The Hedgelink website includes information on the importance of hedgerows, their culture and historical value, management, research, legislation and provides a forum for news and events.
Further information
This article was first published in Farming Link, Defra's magazine for farmers and growners
Photo courtesy of Robert Wolton, Hedgelink
Page published: 6 February 2009