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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/apr/17/england-ancient-hedges-wildlife>
"The 30-metre ridge runs across the moor near Yar Tor on Dartmoor, one of
several faint lines that crisscross the land like aeroplane contrails. Although
the open moorland looks wild, we are standing on some of the UK’s oldest
farmland. These ridges, called reaves, are the ghosts of farming’s most
wildlife-rich legacy: hedges.
“These reaves sadly have no function today other than to delight us. Or some of
us,” says ecologist Rob Wolton. But Dartmoor’s reaves are the skeletons upon
which more recent hedges were built: hundreds of thousands of miles of them.
After Ireland, the UK is believed to be the most hedge-dense country in the
world, and Wolton says the majority of them are more than 280 years old. Recent
laser scanning shows England has enough hedges to wrap around the world almost
10 times. They are, by far, the country’s biggest nature reserve, which is why
community groups, farmers and charities are rallying together to plant hedges
of the future that will offer the same support to wildlife as the ancient
hedges of the past.
“Wouldn’t you like to do something that you knew might be there in a thousand
years?” says Jon Stokes, the director of trees, science and research at the
Tree Council and chair of Hedgelink, who describes planting a hedge as “one of
life’s great joyful things”.
Hedgelink is a partnership of more than 30 organisations planting and restoring
the next generation of ancient hedges."
Via
Positive.News
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*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
