Hedges help wildlife thrive

It’s genuinely saddens me to hear how he looks back so fondly to the ‘good old days’ when he would have been allowed to murder and decimate wildlife at will without us troublesome ‘do-gooders’ pointing out that probably there are kinder ways to live, and that there are certainly ways we can manage the landscape to benefit wildlife without always giving in to the bloodlust of the ‘kill it’ brigade.

We often hear the line about more hedges being planted in recent years trotted out – but a new hedge is little more than a line of ‘whips’ - with plastic tubing around the stems to stop rabbits nibbling them down - that counts as a hedge. And in a few decades, it will become an ecologically valuable hedge, but for now it is a box ticked on a subsidy application form.

Old hedges provide shelter and food and they also act as corridors through the landscape for so much wildlife, not just hedgehogs. For example, a Devon hedge was monitored over two years - just 85m long - and it was found to have at least 2070 different species of animal, plant and fungi. Newly planted hedges simply do not have the capacity to hold such diversity.

Old hedges are not perfect, by any means. They need to be managed with wildlife in mind if they are to retain their value. A blunt flail will rip the tops off, exposing the stems to increased risk of disease. Even neat cutting has the problem that over the years, gaps begin to appear. Harking back to Mr Kerswell’s ‘good old days’, before the loss of people from the land and the invasion of the tractor, these hedges were managed by ‘laying’ - which creates a vibrant and stock-proof barrier. Modern-day conservationists are looking to more brutal but much more affordable techniques - but ones that allow a hedge to thrive for centuries.

Hedges of course are not alone in the environment - consideration needs to be given to the field margins that run alongside them. These are where hedgehogs will spend most of their lives in the countryside, close to the hedges, foraging in the margins. If these are not managed sensitively - i.e. are sprayed and mown to an ecological desert, the hedge will also suffer.

We, along with our partners at People’s Trust for Endangered Species, have produced free guidance for farmers which is available by emailing info@britishhedgehogs.org.uk – the advice will help landowners create a rich, diverse and thriving landscape that will allow our damaged wildlife the chance to return.

Fay Vass

Chief Executive, British Hedgehog Preservation Society, Ludlow