New hedge to help wildlife

ABOUT 100 metres of hedgerow was planted at Newnham Hill, near Stoke Row, on Saturday.

Fourteen volunteers, led by Steph Rodgers, senior ranger with the conservation group Chiltern Rangers, carried out the work.

Two hedges totalling 250m will be planted using 1,300 saplings provided by the Woodland Trust.

The remaining work will take about four days and Moulsford Prep School has offered to help with the planting.

Ms Rodgers said: “The hedge helps wildlife by creating a miniature woodland and blossoms in the spring so is good for pollinators.

“We plant British native species which bear fruit and nuts to provide food for wildlife in the autumn and winter. It’s a sort of bed and breakfast for nature.

“Eventually the hedge will be good nesting habitat and provide cover for small mammals. It will link habitats and create a green corridor. It will also help bats as they navigate using hedgerows. It will increase carbon capture and help prevent soil erosion and retain water.”

Ms Rodgers said the saplings would start bearing fruit by next spring but it would take a decade for it to become a mature, bushy hedge.

Hedgerows provide habitats for birds such as robins and blackbirds and small mammals such as moles and mice, which in turn act as a food source for predators like owls.

Since 1950 about 118,000 miles of hedges have been removed, largely for agriculture.

Ms Rodgers said: “After the Second World War, farmers were paid to rip them out in order to feed us. Farm machinery got bigger, so they needed bigger fields. This has had so many negative impacts on wildlife.”

The new hedge plants include field maple, holly, hawthorn, wild cherry and blackthorn. Each one was planted with 30cm space in a zig zag formation. Ms Rodgers said: “It is the traditional way of planting so instead of fencing you would have hedgerow to keep livestock in. This makes it bushy and impenetrable to escaping beasts.”

The volunteers included individuals wanting to boost their health and youngsters doing their Duke of Edinburgh’s Award.

Volunteer Colin Duncan, 74, said: “The sunshine was real plus. Usually we are planting all winter in the rain, sleet and freezing temperatures.

“I have been volunteering for about six years. We plant all year round. It is good fun and gets you out and about. It makes you feel you are doing something useful. In the summer months we help maintain the rivers.

“I like being outdoors and enjoy doing something good for nature.

“You meet people from all walks of life, young and old. It is better than a job because although you don’t get paid, you enjoy it more.”