The Wiggly 'Hedge' Fund

Thanks to your support we reached our Goal!

THANKS TO EVERYONE who tipped us and helped us fund the new hedging plans at Lower Blakemere Farm. Here’s the map of what we are aiming to achieve which in total will deliver over 1000 metres of hedging which will be 8000 hedge plants.

Currently we have planted over 600 meters of hedging!

Imagine the extra habitat that will provide for birds, bugs, bees, and butterflies. We are really pleased to have got this project off the ground and I don’t know what you think but rather than a tree being planted somewhere or other it’s amazing that our customers have managed to sponsor planting trees here on the farm and will be able to see them going in, growing and the results. WELL DONE Wigglets - cracking effort. We will keep you up to date.

Find our latest Hedge Planting updates here https://www.wigglywigglers.co.uk/blogs/blog/tagged/hedge-fund

When you order now you will be able to get involved in our next project The Wiggly PIGGY Bank…

A native hedge:
Carbon sequestration   
Carbon dioxide from the air is taken in through pores in the plant and some is converted to make the woody structure. Faster-growing plants can store more carbon in less time. While large, mature hedges will store the most carbon, the overall amount stored will increase little once they are maintained at their desired size.    

Flood mitigation
Managing rainfall is an increasing issue for towns and cities due to the continuing reduction in the area of permeable surfaces – and the predictions for more heavy rainfall events due to climate change. A 2016 survey by the RHS suggested one in four UK front gardens are paved over and nearly one in three front gardens have no plants. Through carefully planting, however, gardens can offer more protection against flooding in the UK.

Support for wildlife
A native hedge will provide shelter for birds, hedgehogs and mammals and some hedges (such as common yew, hawthorn and pyracantha) also provide food such as berries and flowers to provide pollen and nectar for insects. One ecologist – Rob Wolton studied the hedgerow near his home and found it supported 2000 species…

In fact hedges support up to 80 per cent of our woodland birds, 50 per cent of our mammals and 30 per cent of our butterflies. The ditches and banks associated with hedgerows provide habitat for frogs, toads, newts and reptiles.
In areas with few woods, many species of birds depend on hedgerows for their survival. At least 30 species nest in hedgerows. Many of these, such as bullfinches and turtle doves, prefer hedgerows more than 4m tall, with lots of trees, whereas whitethroats, linnets and yellowhammers favour shorter hedgerows (2–3m) with fewer trees. Dunnocks, lesser whitethroats and willow warblers prefer medium or tall hedgerows with few trees. 

Wrens, robins, dunnocks and whitethroats usually nest low down, but song thrushes, blackbirds, chaffinches and greenfinches nest well above the ground level. Grey partridges use grass cover at the hedge bottom to nest. It is therefore very important to manage for a range of hedge heights and tree densities and to maintain a grassy verge at the base of the hedge.

Grassy hedge bottoms and field margins provide nesting material and insect larvae for chicks to feed on. Wild flowers and grasses growing up into a hedge also help to conceal nests from predators. In winter, hedgerows can be feeding and roosting sites for resident birds and winter visitors such as fieldfares and redwings.

Watch this space – once we have enough in our planting kitty we will aim to start planting over Winter 21/22.