CONSERVATION

Hedgerows are an oasis for wildlife and a weapon against climate change, yet since 1945 half have been lost. We look at plans to restore our patchwork countryside

by MIKE UNWIN

Mid-summer in West Sussex and I’m peering into a tangle of green, trying to locate a mystery bird. Could that soft, frog-like croak be a foraging nightingale? I wait, taking in the soundscape and marvelling at the profusion of life, the incessant chirrup of field grasshoppers punctuated by a whitethroat’s occasional warble.

Meadow crane’s-bill has now replaced the primroses of spring, while May’s scented hawthorn blossom has given way to a summer crop of deep red berries. This mini-Eden feels as vibrant as a tropical rainforest, yet it’s just a humble English hedge.

Believe it or not, Britain’s hedgerows are one of our most precious natural assets. Home to more than 600 species of plant, 65 types of bird, 20 mammals and a staggering 1,500 different insects, they have been described as – collectively – Britain’s largest nature reserve. Sadly, at least half of these were lost in the decades after 1945, and today there’s a nationwide push to plant and restore this neglected network to its former glory. You might wonder why hedgerows are so important. With so much of our natural habitat lost to farming and development, these thin ribbons of green offer lifelines – literally – in otherwise sterile landscapes. Managed properly, they provide vital resources for wildlife – from song posts, shelter and nest sites to nectar, nuts and berries. Bats and sparrowhawks use them as hunting sightlines, while for larger animals, like badgers, they provide secure ‘eco-corridors’ between otherwise isolated pockets of woodland. The RSPB estimates that hedges support 80% of our woodland birds, including such threatened species as grey partridges and turtle doves.