News Update – January 2026
Due to its proximity to the Gloucester Way we had the generous support of a local farmer to flail one of our hedgerows, whilst not our first choice this was necessary to meet planning requirements, so was carried out at the correct time of the year. The bigger trees were left unaffected.
Will soon recover in the Spring
Project context
Hedgerows are the U.K.’s largest priority habitat and are home to 80% of our woodland birds. Yet we’ve lost 50% of our hedgerows since World War II and around 60% of the hedgerows we still have aren’t in good condition. Healthy hedgerows are essential habitats for UK biodiversity, supporting over 2000 species.
Hedgerows are a priority habitat for 12 of the U.K.’s most threatened bird species, Tree sparrows, bullfinch, Song Thrush, Spotted Flycatcher and Yellow Hammer. Hedgerows also support up to 30% of our butterflies, not to mention endangered mammals such as as hedgehogs and dormice.
When we purchased our Ground in 2015, one of the first jobs that we carried out was to plant a hedge along the north eastern and south eastern boundaries. The hedge was of mixed native species, such as Hawthorn, Blackthorne and Guilder Rose. It was interspaced with larger trees such as Crabapple and Oak and has developed into a wildlife haven for pollinators, birds and mammals.
We have also planted numerous types of Willow, Oak and Elder in the woodland area and along the stream bank.
The next phase is to plant native hedging along both sides of the track behind the field course this will hopefully develop into wildlife corridor helping birds, mammals and insects to move through the wider landscape. As the hedging matures we hope to be able to lay big sections to maintain the health of the hedging.
2025
Many of the hedgerows we planted are at the point where they would benefit from being layed, so we are taking the summer to work out how we can economically begin that process. Since the picture above we have introduced at least 1m of uncut meadow along the edge of the hedgerows. Many of the bigger trees planted in the hedgerows have been allowed to grow and the main hedging kept below 6m. The array of berries and nuts have been a great source of food for the wildlife.