Blossoming biodiversity: Cultivating a hedgerow oasis on a Cornish farm near Liskeard

You must have heard about the ancient woodland, High Wood, that Protect Earth is restoring near Liskeard, Cornwall. Well, our neighbours in that area certainly have and were amenable to the idea of us planting hedges on their farm, which is close to High Wood.

The landowners themselves have endeavoured to boost biodiversity on their farm. When they heard about the restorative work at High Wood, it made sense to them to link up with Protect Earth and continue developing natural habitats benefitting their farm, the soil, and biodiversity.

After discussing their goals of naturally improving their farm without encroaching on space requirements for farming activities and an on-site inspection, we all agreed that developing hedgerows would be the most suitable natural habitat.

The importance of hedgerows

Over the 20th century, hedgerow presence in the UK has plummeted.

Hedgerows, rich in diverse plant life, contribute to supporting wildlife. For instance, brambles within hedgerows produce sweet nectar that sustains bees and butterflies. Additionally, the berries that appear in autumn provide nourishment for birds such as song thrushes and yellowhammers.

Hedgerows form a natural corridor for creatures and critters to live and move safely. One hundred thirty wildlife species listed as priorities under the government's Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) live in hedgerows.

Amongst those creatures calling hedges home is an animal so intertwined it takes its name from hedges, the Hedgehog. Hedgehogs have evolved to thrive within hedges, availing themselves of mice, frogs, worms, caterpillars, slugs, toads, and plants and fruits. Hedgehogs move around in hedgerows and hibernate in hedges during the winter months.

Hedgehogs play a crucial role as an 'indicator species,' serving as a reflection of the overall health of our ecosystem. A decrease in hedgehog numbers indicates a potential decline in essential habitats and the insect population.

Hedgerows could quite easily be renamed ‘Rue du Hedgehogs’, or ‘chez Hedgehog’!

For farms, hedgerows also offer commercial benefits. Hedgerows break up the wind, keeping seed and soil in place. Livestock is also more protected from the elements and burns less energy keeping warm (the effects on the bottom line are small, but hedgerows still save money). Hedgerows and their wind diffusion also protect buildings, and less direct wind pummeling buildings reduces heating costs.

Preparing the site for the hedgerow

After deciding on a hedgerow and its placement on the farm, Protect Earth's next step was to remove the Bindweed established in the area. Bindweed does provide bees with pollen. Beyond that, it chokes other plant life, offering little to foster biodiversity or goodwill with many gardeners.

Together with the farmer, we strimmed around the affected area and removed the bindweed.

Planting the hedgerow

A school local to the farm had contacted Protect Earth, saying some of their students with special needs would like to come to lend a hand in creating the hedgerow.

The farmer, school, and Protect Earth came together to make sure the site for planting was accessible, and everyone could contribute and enjoy their day.

After 3.5 hours of planting, 450 hedge plants were planted - one of the first steps towards establishing the hedgerow and new habitat development.

To sum up

Hedgerows are a critical habitat. On many of the woodlands that Protect Earth has been involved with establishing, we do look to make space for hedgerows, and where there isn't the space for a woodland, we will still encourage hedgerow development.

Having had a chance to work with our like-minded neighbours is tremendously beneficial for extending High Wood's biodiversity reach. With new hedgerows on this farm, local wildlife (especially birds) can use these wildlife corridors to safely make it into and out of High Wood. As Protect Earth's chair noted, this partnership to extend biodiversity around High Wood forms a network effect; having a wider biodiversity footprint than High Wood's footprint is more valuable than simply planting within High Wood's boundary.

These networks are tremendous and provide equal benefits, with nature winning and farmers gaining bottom-line boosts, and we hope more of these projects become available. If you see the benefit in improving the soil on your farm or developing natural protections while being a pillar for local biodiversity development, we want to hear from you.