A year ago, people from the local community, Siemens Energy, WILDJAC Distillery, our volunteers and students form South and City College Birmingham helped us plant 600 metres of new hedgerow at Dropping Well Farm. The hedge was planted to provide additional wildlife corridors and nesting habitat for local wildlife whilst also providing a boundary to the site. A mixed native hedge is an amazing habitat for a huge range of wildlife, providing a great source of food and shelter for birds, insects and mammals. Hedgerows also offer corridors for wildlife to safely move across the site, and the wider landscape, without having to cross open ground.
As well as more traditional hedging plants like hawthorn and spindle, our new hedge also includes a number of fruit trees, which will provide additional food for birds, mammals and insects.
Since planting in November 2022 the hedge has faced several challenges, mainly due to the odd weather we have had throughout the year, including extended periods of drought. The hedge has also had to deal with competition from other plants including thistles, poppies and ragwort. All these species have amazing wildlife value on their own but when growing around and in between the hedge they can outcompete the young hedge plants. This can lead to a young hedgerow tree becoming stunted, slowing their growth or even the young tree dying. We keep a check on the hedge but there have been a number of trees that have died or are struggling.
Hazel is quite a versatile tree that grows in many habitats across the UK but seems to be struggling at Dropping Well Farm. We haven't done any replanting yet but will be working with school and college groups to remove some of the vegetation growth within and around the hedge to reduce the level of competition for the hedge plants. This November we will be doing a full count of all the trees to see if here are any grabs that need filling...watch this space. If you're interested in getting involved with our work to improve habitats for wildlife , why not join our volunteer work parties on site.
