Megan

Hedge cutting: some balance🧵
I see a lot of outrage over hedge cutting. And this gives me so much hope, as it shows a level of emotional investment in these wonderful habitats
Often, this frustration is justified, but sometimes its a little misplaced. Let's have a closer look..

Update from the burned hedge:

Elm, blackthorn and bramble all resprouted well. Suckering capacity giving them resilience

No hazel, holly, spindle, oak, hawthorn beech or herbaceous AWIs yet, as was there before. But i'll look again in spring to see if anything pops up from seed

Anyone in Wiltshire/Somerset got hedgelaying grants approved but struggling to find a hedgelayer?

I can hook you up

I know a good layer with a bit of capacity left in late winter (probably feb/march)

Find a hedgelayer map is great, but not all are on it hedgelaying.org.uk/find-a-hedgela…

Let's not celebrate this as popularity. All SFI money gone in less than a day shows that there isn't enough money for the scale of ambition amongst the farming communities

This isn't subsidy - this is money for biodiversity &climate action

We have to demand more

3 1/2 years ago we took on the challenge of laying this whopping great overstood hedge

It was a labour of love, and would never have made commercial sense

But we wanted to keep as much of that gorgeous old growth in as we could (alive) but also give it a new lease of life