Freeing up the hedges

It’s been a while since I’ve done any habitat management. I’ve been resting my arm which has tendonitis. So I jumped at the chance to join Stroud Valleys Project with a morning of hedge maintenance.

A new hedge was planted earlier this year along the canal, but the young plants are already swamped by the encroaching Butterbur, nettles and hedgestraw.

The idea was to cut the vegetation about half a meter around the plants. This obviously lets in light which would otherwise be shaded.

But we also placed the cut material at the base of the hedge plants to provide a mulch. This keeps further plants from springing up, and also provides an extra layer to retain moisture if we should have another summer drought.

There was a great bunch of volunteers out, led by Ruth.

We didn’t finish until two so there was opportunity to have a packed lunch in a nice spot next to the canal.

One of the great things about working outdoors is that you never have lunch in the same spot twice.

The weather was really amazing. Warm and sunny from the beginning. I’m going to have to pack my summer backpack. Out with the waterproofs and in with the hat and sun cream. Looking forward to a long summer of work parties ahead.