By Tony Ridd
Some things are better joined up – like hedgerows, which connect up our countryside and provide essential food and shelter for much of the UK’s wildlife. Whoever you are and whatever interest you have in hedgerows, this project can help.
This survey is comparatively simple to do, but collects enough vital information to give a good assessment of hedgerow health, as well as robust advice for future management.
It has been designed both for land managers who may want to improve the structural condition of their own hedgerows, as well as for interested wildlife groups that want to assess the quality of habitat in any particular area.
The data will be collected to give us a good overview of the condition of our hedgerows nationwide. This helps guide future conservation work by People’s Trust for Endangered Species and partners, whether that be through active, on-the-ground conservation or the messages we are putting out to the public.
The two main aims of the Great British Hedgerow Survey are:
– To provide a health-check to assess the condition of each hedgerow surveyed. The results offer instant feedback and tailored management advice for each hedge to ensure the hedge thrives for the benefit of our wildlife in the future.
– To collect this data to get a national view of the condition of our hedgerows.
Understanding the condition of our hedges gives us the best chances of helping restore them. www.ptes.org.