Q: James, what is the Hedgerow Heroes project, and why was it created?
A: Hedgerow Heroes started about five years ago as a way for CPRE to be more proactive in enhancing the countryside, not just protecting it. The remit is broad, and each county branch runs slightly different activities, from hedge planting and laying days to hosting community “Hedgefests”.
This is the first year that the Hertfordshire branch has been involved, and it’s already been a huge success. Our aim locally is to plant 2,100 metres of new hedgerow, reconnecting fragmented habitats and strengthening ecological networks.
We’re partnered with Butterfly Conservation, so we’re particularly focused on supporting butterflies and other invertebrates. We’re introducing 14 different woody plant species into our hedges, including elm, which is vital for the threatened White-letter hairstreak butterfly.
Q: What work have you completed at Woodhall Estate so far?
A: We’ve finished planting, guarding and mulching just under one kilometre of hedgerow at the Dimmings, near Chapmore End.
The new hedges include yew, elm, hawthorn, barberry, holly, buckthorn and blackthorn, a diverse mix that will provide food, shelter and structure for a wide range of species.
We still have around 600 metres left to plant across the Estate, and the volunteer days are already booked in. We’re also organising an event here at Woodhall Estate for farmers and land managers to discuss best practice in hedge cutting, which is just as important as planting them in the first place.
Q: Tell us about the planting process
A: We have so many different groups joining us, from my regular volunteers who can efficiently plant whip after whip (that’s a small hedge plant) to those who have only handled a spade a few times!
This is part of the fun, and the fact that a hedge is being planted is an added benefit, really. Hearing about people’s lives and their relationship to nature is just as exciting.
Typically, we plant about 100-150m per session, which is about 4 hours in length
Q: What sort of wildlife can we expect to see using these hedgerows?
A: Above ground, many of these plants won’t produce enough leaves or pollen to immediately help our threatened butterflies and other invertebrates.
Below the soil, however, earthworms will already have started increasing, the soil kept warm and moist by the woodchip above. Within a few months, the plants’ roots will have already formed connections with the web of Mycorrhizal fungi underground, and more nodes will be added to the network that spreads below the soil. Bats may already be using the linear features to navigate, and birds and hedgehogs will be travelling between the canes and guards that act as a corridor through previously wide-open fields.
In a few years, the hedges’ structure will be complex enough for birds to build their nests, and soil carbon will begin to build back up. Eventually, the hedge will be the lynchpin of a complex network of hundreds of different species, above and below ground. Fieldfares and Redwings will feast on berries in the winter, and butterflies, like the Gatekeeper, will flit from flower to flower in the spring.
