Hedgerows can help heal environment

THE Celtic Tiger has radically changed — some would say devoured — our landscape.

A person who, say, left Ireland 20 years ago might find it difficult to recognise once-familiar places.

But all those new roads, housing estates and shopping centres have taken their toll on a once-verdant countryside.

In an era of unprecedented development, more hedgerows have been removed by builders or local authorities than farmers, who had carried out most of their ditch removal before the economic boom really got underway.

Land is more valuable for building than for farming, with the result that one-off houses and housing estates are mushrooming. Hedges and ditches have been ruthlessly swept aside to make way for houses and roads.

A great deal of environmental damage has been done, but some enlightened councils are trying to get hedgerows retained in new housing estates.

Such efforts are being supported by a just-launched Teagasc campaign with the basic message — get out there and plant. Farmers, landowners and even householders are being urged to rejuvenate hedgerows, which have suffered such a severe battering in recent years.

What is being described as the largest planting in 200 years will take place in every parish in Ireland in the next few years, during which 4,500 kilometres of native hedgerows will be planted on 15,000 farms.

Best practice in planting will be demonstrated by Teagasc and native species to be planted will include whitethorn, holly, hazel, spindle, guelder rose and blackthorn.

It will be done under the REPS programme and Teagasc is holding a series of demonstrations. Richard Connell’s, near Goleen, Cork, will be the venue at 2pm today while there will be a demonstration at Clonakilty Agricultural College and tomorrow, also at 2pm.

Most Irish hedgerows were planted in the 1700s and 1800s. Acts of Parliament were then passed, making it obligatory on landowners to carry out such planting. Some hedgerows along town boundaries are much older, often dating from medieval times.

However, changing practices from the mid-20th altered the countryside.

While there are no statistics to show the level of destruction we need only look around us to get an idea of the scale of what has been happening. In Britain, for example, a quarter of all hedgerows have disappeared since World War II.

Very soon, as we move into February, we’ll witness our hedgerows coming to life after a long winter sleep. We don’t always see them, but a huge number of creatures make their homes in hedgerows.

Considering their small size, hedgerows support an astonishing variety of plants and animals, according to Mr David Hickie, who edited the book Irish Hedgerows, Networks for Nature.

“It is estimated that over 600 of Ireland’s 815 species of flowering plants live in hedgerows. The Irish Wildlife Federation recorded 37 species of shrubs and trees and 105 species of wild flora in hedgerows,” he said.

When autumn comes, they offer fruit, nuts and berries for wild birds, mammals and a host of other small animals. Branches provide nesting sites for birds, while grass and other plants along the margins give cover to small mammals such as pygmy shrews, wood mice and invertebrates.

Something that’s not always appreciated is that hedgerows also help moderate the effects of our wet weather.

Let’s not overlook the beauty of hedges, especially in the full bloom of summer. Often taken for granted, how bare the countryside would look without them.

And then, with unmistakable fragrances of flora filling the air and wild plants lighting up the landscape, we know summer has arrived.