This Wednesday was an unusual day, in that the task was new to all the team, and the weather was much worse than usual! We met Nick the ranger who showed us a hedge in the process of being lain. At the moment the unfinished hedge is between two wire fences which separate two fields, but the eventual aim is for the hedge to become stockproof, and be the only barrier between the fields. As it involves a range of native species, it will be an invaluable habitat corridor for various forms of wildlife. Various groups have been working on this sizeable and longterm project, taking advantage of the opportunity to learn hedgelaying skills. This is a great community project with many advantages to people and the environment.
We used billhooks and hand axes to ‘pleach’ the trees – chop away some of the main trunk to allow the tree to bend uphill and be weaved amongst the other trees. It was surprisingly hard work, but the volunteers got the hang of the technique as the day went on.
In addition to laying the hedge, we trimmed back the trees which had become overgrown, and cut back self-seeded trees which had sprung up on either side of the hedge. The day ended early because of the snow blizzard which had been blowing the whole afternoon!