Southern Water Biodiversity Grant funded - Hedging Our Future Project
Hedging Our Future project
Manhood Wildlife and Heritage Group have been awarded a £10,000 grant from Southern Water’s Biodiversity Fund for a one-year hedging project across the Manhood Peninsula which we are going to call ‘Hedging the Future’. We plan a monthly seasonal ‘Hedge Clipping’ to tell you more about hedges and the work we are carrying out across the peninsula.
Hedgerow week 8th-14th May 2023
It is National Hedgerow week 8th to the 14th May and a chance to recognise these biodiversity hotspots that often get overlooked and unloved but are all around us. There are lots of talks about hedgerows on Hedgelink (available here) to celebrate these important wildlife corridors.
What have hedges ever done for us?!
Hedges are a historic feature that were originally developed to manage livestock and to mark boundaries. With the loss of tree cover across the country hedgerows are often the relic pieces of ancient woodland left and they can be extremely biodiversity rich and heritage features. Hedgerows are important land management tools as they help to prevent soil erosion, reduce wind erosion, increase water penetration into the soil, aid in flood risk reduction, have a role to play in carbon sequestration, and are wildlife superhighways.
In the UK with 70% of the land in agriculture, hedgerows act as an important network for wildlife and as a habitat in itself. These are home to a large range of mammals, birds, amphibians, invertebrates, and flora.
We benefit from these hedges directly with more attractive landscape and the sounds of birds, bees and insects and a more resilient countryside.
