Farmers and land managers can use a new ‘Healthy Hedgerows’ app to ensure their continued health.
Launched by The People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES), the app enables users to locate where hedges are in their natural lifecycle and offers instant feedback on how best to manage them.
Hedgerows are vital habitats for farmland birds, providing them with a home, forage, hunting ground and shelter. The can also be wildlife havens for endangered species including hazel dormice, hedgehogs and bats, acting a food source and safe corridor across the countryside.
The Wildlife Charity that created the app hopes it will help farmers create a thriving network of healthy hedges across the UK countryside.
PTES says that despite there being around 500,000km of hedgerow habitat in England, much of it requires management due to its age. Measures needed include sensitive trimming, periods of non-intervention and potential rejuvenation.
Farmers benefit from healthy hedgerows are they provide forages for pollinators, offer crop protection, act as a stock barrier and give shelter for livestock. They can also have additional environmental benefits including storing carbon, helping flood control, reducing soil erosion and lowering water and air pollution.
Visit the Apple Store or Google Play and search for Healthy Hedgerows to download the app.
LSL News.