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Hedgerows – Small But Mighty<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Described by the Woodland Trust as ‘small but mighty’ these are ‘the most widespread semi-natural habitats in Britain’. We mean, of course, hedgerows. Taken for granted by most people they bring a huge number of benefits as have been described by the Peoples Trust for Endangered Species. Soil erosion is reduced as a hedge lessens wind speeds which can blow topsoil off a field and this helps to minimise the pesticides which can accompany the soil into our watercourses. Pollution is also reduced from herbicides which can be washed off fields in the same way. The severity of flooding can be minimised as hedge plant roots improve the ability of water to penetrate the soil but the roots also themselves suck up some moisture. Biological pest control comes from all the spiders, beetles and birds for whom hedges provide shelter. Climate control benefits from the ability of a hedge to absorb carbon and a well-managed hedge can provide some wood fuel. The benefits of a hedge extend to 16 times its height so a 2-metre hedge spreads its help to some 32 metres over the adjacent land. The warmer soil brings benefits to livestock as lamb mortality from hypothermia is reduced and during hot spells cattle are kept a little cooler. Crops are also helped with warmer soil and the host of insects which pollinate the crops. Many species of wildlife, including Dormice, get an advantage from the corridors provided by a hedge rather than ending up in isolated pockets.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Hedgerows – Small But Mighty Described by the Woodland Trust as ‘small but mighty’ these are ‘the most widespread semi-natural habitats in Britain’. We mean, of course, hedgerows. Taken for granted by most people they bring a huge number of benefits as have been described by the Peoples Trust for Endangered Species. Soil erosion is reduced as a hedge lessens […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6cWjO-3dm","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":15608,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=15608","url_meta":{"origin":12360,"position":0},"title":"Hedgerows Are Invaluable","author":"Alan Williams","date":"30th May 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Hedgerows Are Invaluable You can stand anywhere in the village with a view of the countryside, and you will see hedgerows. Along Port Road, Old Port Road and around the school as well. You could be forgiven for thinking they are common and unthreatened. Yet since 1950 the UK has\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Nature Notes"","block_context":{"text":"Nature Notes","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=49"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Guelder-Rose-1-300x260.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6590,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=6590","url_meta":{"origin":12360,"position":1},"title":"A Good Year For Apples","author":"Alan Williams","date":"30th September 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"A Good Year For Apples Generally it has been a good year for our apples and many of the trees in our orchards have been heavily laden with fruit. Also doing well are the insects, particularly wasps and butterflies, that appreciate apples that have started to over-ripen. Our camera traps\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Nature Notes"","block_context":{"text":"Nature Notes","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=49"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Pic-07.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3991,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=3991","url_meta":{"origin":12360,"position":2},"title":"Many New Members","author":"Alan Williams","date":"28th November 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 It is great that so many new members of the group are coming from people who have recently moved into the village. Whether you are a specialist or generalist, whether you prefer digging and planting or spotting and recording, there is plenty of opportunity for everyone who cares about\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Wenvoe Wildlife Group"","block_context":{"text":"Wenvoe Wildlife Group","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=48"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":12347,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=12347","url_meta":{"origin":12360,"position":3},"title":"The Vale Biodiversity Team","author":"Alan Williams","date":"12th October 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Wenvoe Wildlife Group \u00a0The Vale Biodiversity Team At this time of year, you will see a lot of activity around our sites cutting the grass and wildflowers. The Vale Biodiversity team own a seed-harvesting machine, and this is being deployed on the Community Orchard and small meadow at Goldsland Farm.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Wenvoe Wildlife Group"","block_context":{"text":"Wenvoe Wildlife Group","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=48"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Picture9.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7288,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=7288","url_meta":{"origin":12360,"position":4},"title":"A Lot More Blossom About","author":"Alan Williams","date":"29th February 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"By the time you read this there should be a lot more blossom about. In mid February we can see the first white splashes in the hedgerows of Blackthorn, from which you get your sloes, and early flowering cherries are popular in gardens. At the entrance to Clos Llanfair is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Nature Notes"","block_context":{"text":"Nature Notes","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=49"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Wild-Cherry-Blossom-UOF-8-4-12.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":15882,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=15882","url_meta":{"origin":12360,"position":5},"title":"Wenvoe Community Orchid Field","author":"Alan Williams","date":"24th August 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Wenvoe Wildlife Group Wenvoe Community Orchid Field Once known as the Sledging Field, this meadow is now a Community Nature reserve with over 300 species of flowers, grasses, insects and birds. It is managed as a traditional meadow with an annual mowing to encourage the sort of wildflowers that are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "New Items for August 2025"","block_context":{"text":"New Items for August 2025","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=424"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12360"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12360"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12360\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12363,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12360\/revisions\/12363"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12360"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12360"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12360"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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In spite of all this, farmers were once incentivised to grub up hedges and since 1950 we have lost 118,000 miles of hedgerow in Britain. Nowadays planting a hedge can attract grant money but there is some way to go. Many people may be able to help by planting a stretch of hedgerow in their garden or replacing an existing hedge which may just consist of Leylandii, Privet or Laurel which brings limited benefits to wildlife. A traditional hedge often included a mix of Hawthorn, Blackthorn, Hazel, Ash and Oak with extra fruit from Bramble and Guelder Rose (pictured). The Scouts are planning to plant some more hedgerow at Goldsland Farm this Autumn so if you would like to help, look out for more details in the coming weeks<\/p>\n
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