IT’S a skill that dates back to Roman times.
But with the traditional craft of hedge-laying in decline, a conservation group is reviving it in Huddersfield.
Volunteers from the Ten Villages Conservation Group recently completed a training course in the ancient craft.
And they were able to use their newly-found skills to improve 20 metres of native Hawthorn hedgerow at Shelley College, near Skelmanthorpe.
The work is funded by the Steel Valley Project and Denby Dale Parish Environment Trust.
Project officer Kate Hughes from the Steel Valley Project said: “Throughout the UK, we have seen a massive decline in well-managed hedgerows in the past 50 years or so, it feels like a privilege to be involved in a restoration project such as this.
“Thanks to the hard work of volunteers, 20 metres of native Hawthorn hedgerow has been improved on the Shelley College grounds.
“In addition, they achieved certificates of competence awarded by the Yorkshire Hedge Laying Association and can take their skills to care for the environment on future conservation projects.”
Hedge-laying is a skill that has been used for hundreds of years for managing hedgerows – with tall stems being part-cut and then pushed over to be held together by stakes to form a dense barrier.
As they grow thicker, the hedges provide a valuable habitat for wildlife including up to 600 plant species, 1,500 insects, 65 birds and 20 smaller mammals.
They will also provide a natural barrier, protection from the weather and an important feature in the rural landscape.
Traditional hedge-laying declined after WWII due to many factors such as the availability of labour, the introduction of machines to cut hedges, wire fences and changes in agriculture that placed emphasis on production.
Lack of maintenance meant that hedges became tall and gappy with nothing at the bottom – in effect a line of trees. Many hedges were taken out to make larger fields that could be more efficiently managed by larger machinery.
Legislation was introduced in 1997 to protect hedgerows. The decline has now been halted and many miles of hedgerow are being restored under farm environment schemes such as the one in Denby Dale.
Maintenance of hedgerows is now part of good farming practice and the skills of the hedge-layer are more in demand.
More than 100,000 miles of hedgerows in England – which is nearly half the total – are actively managed under assorted environment schemes.
In the last 10 years, some 13,000 miles have been fully restored.
The Steel Valley Project is a countryside management partnership scheme that seeks to work with local people to care for and understand their local environment.
