#229: Hedges in the news

Hedges were in the news with a report on the BBC News website by Helen Briggs saying that the length of the UK's hedgerows would go round the world ten times. It's based on some CEH data here.

Of course it used to be many times more, but miles of hedgerows have been lost - grubbed up to make more space, or to make larger fields to make farming more 'efficient'. Hopefully some protections are now put in place, and other new hedgerows can be planted - I noticed some going in on the edge of my Norfolk village last weekend.

The news article was picked up by a few Twitter accounts.

About half of Britain's hedgerows were lost 1940s-1990s, mostly in England - intensive farming & development.

Loss has slowed since 1990s, but neglect, damage & removal remain big threats.

Government promised in 2023 to create/restore 72,000km of hedgerows by 2050. https://t.co/8pXmqgQiRv

— Rachael Unsworth (@LeedsTours) January 30, 2024

There are plenty of overlaps with the potential content of the GCSE Natural History specification. Hedges are a linear habitat. Their existence reveals landscape change and links to the past, including enclosure. They are important for biodiversity, and vary in form in different counties.

Hedgelink has also shared the link to the mapping which has been done by CEH. 

Amazing hedgerow mapping from @UK_CEH 🌳 Hedgerow height and length has been mapped across England to build up a picture of the state of the nation's hedges. Click here for the data: https://t.co/UFDOQFz22w https://t.co/qlGi5iNDV5

— Hedgelink (@Hedgelink_UK) January 30, 2024

A comment on hedges from Robert MacFarlane to end this post. We will certainly be coming back to consider how we can create a resource related to the changing history of hedges. They need to be conserved and cherished according to this FT piece.

I like the description here by Robert of hedges:

Hedgerows are miraculous habitats: skinny wildwoods, bird-larders, carbon stores, species shelters.
Now first full (LIDAR) map of England's vast hedge-network is out.
Laid end to end they'd girdle the Earth ten times.
Let's celebrate hedges! Pics, stories?https://t.co/5Dx8UspiVq

— Robert Macfarlane (@RobGMacfarlane) January 30, 2024

He asked for contributions on the theme of hedges, and here is one that caught the eye, and is worth returning to:

"A bewitched curtain"...
here is the full poem, The Hedge, by @ZaffarKunial from "England's Green" (Faber) pic.twitter.com/Vdwb1sfwmI

— CeasefireNow (@lucyinnarnia) January 30, 2024

Update

Hedgerow schemes were featured on the BBC's Countyfile programme. There are some lovely quotes about the value of hedges in this feature on hedgerow restoration. 

The piece explores what makes a good hedge.

They have been part of our landscape since the Bronze Age, but more than half have been lost since the Second World War. Watch from 27 minutes in.

#217: Hedgelink

Hedgelink is a useful site to go to for anyone teaching about the value of hedgerows.

Hedgelink brings together organisations and individuals with a love of hedgerows. We share knowledge and ideas to encourage and inspire everyone to take action to manage, protect and conserve our hedgerows for the future.

They provide a range of resources on the value of hedgerows, which are not always guaranteed to remain where they have been for (potentially) centuries. There is plenty of information elsewhere on the importance of hedges in creating the enclosures of land and marking boundaries.

They have a Hedge Hub with all related resources. This CPRE guide is a useful one, for example, as it describes the techniques for investigating the origins and age of hedgerows by looking at the variety of plant species they contain. This might include an investigation into Hooper's Rule for ageing a hedge.

Wikipedia explains more

Hooper's rule (named for Dr. Max Hooper) is based on ecological data obtained from hedges of known age, and suggests that the age of a hedge can be roughly estimated by counting the number of woody species counted in a thirty-yard distance and multiplying by 110 years.

Max Hooper published his original formula in the book Hedges in 1974. This method is only a rule of thumb, and can be off by a couple of centuries; it should always be backed up by documentary evidence, if possible, and take into account other factors. Caveats include the fact that planted hedgerows, hedgerows with elm, and hedgerows in the north of England tend not to follow the rule as closely. The formula also does not work on hedges more than a thousand years old. 

The founding father of contemporary Local Studies W.G. Hoskins, also pointed out that the number and types of species vary from county to county, which casts further doubt on Hooper’s Rule as an accurate dating tool. So unless it can be verified with historic records, it cannot stand alone.

Hooper's scheme is important not least for its potential use in determining what an important hedgerow is, given their protection in The Hedgerows Regulations (1997; No. 1160) of the Department of the Environment, based on age and other factors.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedge

Hedges are of particular significance in the landscape in Devon - see link here (PDF download)