Phase One of Hedgerow Heroes - bats, birds and butterflies

The actual planting of hedges won’t happen until later in the year when the season is right, but our volunteers have been out in the countryside doing lots of vital preparatory work. The first phase has included conducting wildlife surveys, to assess what animals, birds and invertebrates are there before we begin restoration work. This work has been led by Carmen Green, an Ecologist from the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust. Carmen has carried out the bird and bat surveys, while our own volunteers have been counting bees and butterflies. A full report will be available in our CPRE Hampshire members magazine, Hampshire Views, Spring edition.

However, at this stage we can report that 4 species of bumblebee were spotted, 7 species of butterfly and one species of moth. The bat survey was undertaken by sight and sound. A bat detector was used to pick up all inaudible bat echolocations, which then produces an audible sound used to identify the species of bat calling. A total of 5 species were identified. Carmen describes a particular highlight: “During the first visit there was a large group of noctule bats that were observed foraging along the edge of the nearby woodland. It was thought that there may be a roost in the trees nearby as it is quite unusual to see so many of these bats in one place.”

We have also been fortunate to be able to bring in an expert from the People’s Trust for Endangered Species to help us assess the health of the hedgerows on the estate. Mandy Gimber, Key Habitats Project Officer, gave our volunteers tips on how to measure a hedge and judge whether it was in a good state or bad. The bad ones, which have not been properly maintained over the years are called “lollipops” because they have a round clump of branches on top but only thin stems below. These are the hedgerows that are ripe for “hedgelaying”. And hedgelaying is the next stage in the process.

Another hedgerow expert, Chris Sparkes, is coming in to teach our volunteers how to lay a hedge which has been degraded by many years of poor maintenance, and too frequent flailing. Flailing is where hedges are repeatedly back cut at the same place. The photo below shows Chris having a good look at the workings of this hedge.

Our volunteers will also be undertaking soil surveys, measuring carbon and nitrate quantities in the fields, in the locations where we are going to be planting new hedges. Our aim is for our hedges to improve the soil quality and increase carbon sequestration, both above and below ground, thus contributing to mitigation of climate change. Carbon sequestration is the process by which carbon is absorbed and stored.

We are delighted with the work being undertaken by our expert team and fantastic volunteers. We’ll be sure to keep you up to date with progress and results.

October 2021

See more on our photographic timeline.