Trees and hedges are a much-loved characteristic of the English countryside. A significant percentage of our project area is made up of farmland, with trees and hedgerows forming a vital component of the landscape. Since the 1950’s there have been huge losses of hedgerows due to changes in farm machinery and crop production. Along with the loss of hedgerows, there has also been a decline in the number of mature and veteran landscape trees. Most of the existing landscape trees are in their mature life stages and without identifying replacement trees, will eventually also be lost.
Sherwood’s Landscape of Trees & Hedges
We need to gather information about the trees and hedges we have and use that information to plan how best to look after them in the future. We will train volunteers to conduct tree and hedge surveys on behalf of landowners who are interested in doing more to protect the landscape. We will be using the People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) survey and inputting our findings into their national database. This will help other organisations to understand the current situation in Sherwood and how it compares to the rest of the country.
We will be using the information to help landowners to work out how they can change their management to improve the health of trees and hedges on their land. We will be working in very close partnership with Lesley Sharpe, the Farmed Environment Advisor, who has been advising local farmers for many years. As well as offering advice, we will also be offering training and grant assistance for hedgerow improvements.
We also want to enthuse local communities about their existing trees and hedgerows and to encourage them to care for and protect them. Communities will be encouraged to plant new heritage trees on publicly accessible land. These trees will be named to commemorate a local hero, legend or story of interest. We hope these trees will be celebrated for many years to come.
If you are interested in getting involved with the trees and hedges project, then please contact us. We will need both volunteers to carry out our surveys and community groups interested in planting and caring for a celebration tree.