A number of events on responsible hedgerow management and cutting will take place over the coming days as part of Teagasc’s Hedgerow Week, which will run until Friday (September 2).
The event, which got underway on August 26, promotes awareness of the role that hedgerows can play in improving biodiversity and capturing carbon. In addition to this, it promotes better recognition and responsible maintenance of these structures.
The theme of this year’s campaign is ‘Best practice hedge cutting for our two hedge types’ and the campaign coincides with the opening of the hedge-cutting season on September 1.
Each of the two hedge types in Ireland have different biodiversity values and management needs, outlined Catherine Keena, Teagasc’s countryside management specialist.
Escaped hedges, which have never been topped, are thin at the base but have “huge biodiversity value in the canopy”, said Keena, who said that these should be side trimmed but never topped.
Meanwhile, as well as a valuable canopy, topped hedges have a denser base, which is extremely important in biodiversity as it provides a habitat for nesting birds and small mammals. Keena outlined how this type should be maintained:
“Best-practice management for topped hedges is to side trim from a wide base to a triangular shape, leaving the peak as high as possible, but at least 1.5m above ground level or top of bank, and retain occasional thorn saplings to mature as thorn trees.”
It is recommended that all farms have a proportion of both hedgerow types, and farmers should ensure they can distinguish between the two, to avoid mismanagement.
Various events will take place over the coming week to improve knowledge on the topic, and exhibits will be on display at Teagasc’s Johnstown Castle open day in Co. Wexford tomorrow (August 30) and at Gurteen College in Co. Tipperary on Thursday (September 1).
As well as this, a walk and talk on the hedgerows of Kilkenny city will take place on Wednesday (August 31), which has been organised in association with the Irish heritage council and Nore Vision.
Francis Quigley, Teagasc machinery specialist, encouraged all hedge cutting contractors to attend the event at Gurteen College, where there will be three live demonstrations on the coppicing of ‘upside down toilet brush’ hedges; retaining thorn saplings in a topped hedge when hedge cutting; and using compostable film to develop a dense base on new hedges.