Hedgerows

Hedgerows are rich, biodiverse habitats which allow a variety of species to move through the landscape freely.

What is a hedgerow?

Some of our oldest waterway habitats, hedgerows are long, dense rows of shrubs and trees which usually follow the path of the canal.

They create long, connected corridors of food, shelter and breeding spaces, making them invaluable spaces for an abundance of species.

Typical canalside plants that make up hedgerows include hawthorn, blackthorn and field maple. You may also come across hazel, buckthorn, wild privet and dog rose.

Read the video transcript
Seeing people make the most of a beautiful sunny day like today is just brilliant. We’ve had cyclists, people with buggies, walkers, all sorts of people coming down to the canals. Yeah, it’s wonderful, isn’t it? Because obviously, wildlife uses them as highways, but it’s not just the kind of water that’s important for that. You’ve got things like these hedgerows and tree lines, as well, which provide these corridors. Yeah, the hedgerows are just such a fantastic feature for bringing nature into the city centre and connecting up habitats as well which have been so succumbed to habitat fragmentation. And then as we have these really lovely hedgerows bringing the wildlife into the cities and connecting them back up to the further afield habitats. It’s just a really great feature. Yeah, definitely. Because, you know, wildlife needs shelter, it needs security when it’s moving around. And those hedgerows are invaluable in providing that. And the things like hedgehog obviously named ‘hedge’ for a reason. And all the kind of the rodents and everything else that lives amongst the dense hedgerow. We need our volunteers to help us to create and improve these habitats. And it’s also fantastic for their own mental health and wellbeing to know that they can come to us and do something like some hedge laying and really make a difference to biodiversity.

Who might live in hedgerows?

Hedgerows link other key habitats such as woodland, trees and grassland. This, coupled with their close proximity to water, attracts species like kingfishers and dormice.

Often seen before they're heard are the 30 bird species that use hedgerows and trees. The likes of blackbirds and robins will build nests, whilst dunnocks and whitethroats use taller shrubs as song-posts to announce their territories.

You may be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the endearing the small and speedy bank vole, or even witness bats using them for foraging and commuter routes.

Frequent visitors to hedgerows also include butterflies, bees, and a multitude of other insects.