Background
In the late 1990s the
Suffolk Coastal Greenprint Forum began promoting
a voluntary hedgerow survey within the Suffolk Coastal area. This
was in response to the 1992 Rio Earth Summit and the Suffolk
Biodiversity Partnership (SBP) assessment for landscape and habitat
priorities.
For many years Government had encouraged farmers to
remove hedgerows in order to make agriculture more efficient
and to increase production. The Forum endorsed the SBP view that
little information existed on how many hedgerows remained, their
structure and what hedgerow species were present.
A small working group of Forum members, chaired by Guy Ackers,
was asked to produce guidance that could be used by any community
or interest group within the Suffolk Coastal area to undertake a
parish-wide hedgerow survey.
The survey soon developed into a county-wide project and
the project now includes officer representatives from each
rural district council. Most have undertaken this role on a purely
voluntary basis and have been active in training volunteers and in
undertaking or assisting with surveys within their area.
The current position
We are now in the final year of the project which has been
ongoing for over 11 years and by the end of September
2011, 266 parish surveys had been completed (100 in Suffolk
Coastal), providing data on over 35,000 hedgerows. That data,
following an audit by Guy Ackers, is sent to the
Suffolk Biological Records Centre (new window)
at Ipswich Museum.
Guy’s audit also relates the data captured to the landscape
character assessment undertaken by Natural England and Suffolk
County Council and can help demonstrate the value of hedgerows in a
particular area and soil type. This may at best help ensure that
sensitive sites remain undeveloped, or if development has to
proceed, that the hedgerows are retained as part of the overall
development pattern.
Guy produces a comprehensive report on each completed survey for
the coordinator / parish council relating the data for that parish
to parishes with similar landscape characteristics and to the
county as a whole. We asked for most ongoing surveys to be
completed by the end of June 2011. Those surveys which started in
2010 will have until leaf fall 2011 to complete the survey.
We are aware that some surveys have been completed on the
ground, but that the final mapping appears to be an obstacle to
completion. It is in reality quite simple and Guy
Ackers, chairman of the Suffolk Hedgerow Survey, is only
too willing to advise and assist - he has already helped a number
of coordinators overcome this hurdle.
What happens at the end of the survey?
When you complete your survey please contact Guy Ackers or Wilf
Garford and they will arrange collection - we do
not want completed surveys lost in the post! Guy will
check the survey and then pass it to the Suffolk Biological Records
Centre. It may also be copied for your district and parish
councils.
Once all the results are in, Guy will produce a county report
showing what has been surveyed and making comparisons between
different parts of the county with similar landscape
characteristics and also showing any significant variation in
hedgerow distribution and species richness in different types of
landscape.
Why the survey has been undertaken
Species rich hedgerows provide shelter for crops, are a feature in
the landscape and an important wildlife habitat in their own right,
as well as providing invaluable corridors for wildlife between
other habitats such as ponds and copses. It is this connectivity
that surely helps to make Suffolk the Greenest County and enhances
the Living Landscape.
Until it is known what hedgerows we have, their hardwood species
content, age and structure, it is difficult to determine where the
priorities lie for enhancement, development and replanting.
If hedgerow planting and replanting takes place in a parish,
the data from the survey will give an immediate indication of what
species are best suited to a particular area.
The Suffolk Biological Records Centre is already relating the
hedgerow data, to data it holds on the incidence of various
wildlife species and habitats, and clear correlations are already
emerging between landscape and species rich hedgerows with the
favourable status of those species and habitats.
Some experiences from the survey
Many communities have completed the survey and have commented on
how enjoyable the whole process has been and how it has brought the
community together. In several cases it has led to other
initiatives within the parish.
On the negative side we also have a few examples of often quite
large communities unable to find a single volunteer to either
co-ordinate the survey or work as a surveyor. We have also trained
some parish teams of volunteers, but they for various reasons have
been unable to proceed.
How to get involved
If you are in the Suffolk Coastal district and would like to
find out more about the Suffolk Hedgerow Survey please contact:
If you are from outside the Suffolk Coastal area, the following
contacts should be able to help you:
Summer 2011 newsletters
You will find more information about the survey in your area
from the newsletters below:
The Suffolk Hedgerow Survey is supported by Babergh, Forest
Heath, Mid Suffolk, Suffolk Coastal and Waveney district councils
and St Edmundsbury Borough
Council.