Two hedge-laying training events were run by the Cambridge Green Belt Project on Saturday 19th and 26th February 2005. The events were held at Fend End Farm in Cottenham. There was a fantastic response to this publicity and we had a total of 32 enquiries regarding the event. Unfortunately we had places for only 24 people over the two days.
The hedge we planned to lay was a 7-year-old hedge predominantly of hawthorn approximately 7m tall. The landowner, Mr Ken Kelso, prepared the hedge for laying by removing all barbed wire. There was 250m of hedge to lay on the farm, although we did not expect to lay all of this over the 2 days.
Don Davies ran the two training days on behalf of the Cambridge Green Belt Project. Most of the 24 volunteers who turned up were local people from Cambridge and the surrounding area. Many were local landowners wishing to lay their own hedges, but there were also people keen to lay their garden hedges and those there just for general interest.
There was great enthusiasm from the participants to learn the technique, despite the cold weather. Don went through the different types of hedge-laying techniques and the different equipment that could be used. He also explained the importance of hedge-laying as a management techniques and benefits for wildlife. The hedges were laid using the West Midlands Bullock style, which is a style used where stock are kept. With this style the hedge is laid inwards, so that the field facing side is thorny and dense, preventing livestock escaping. The hedge is then top bound to prevent it springing back up.
The day was a huge success with participants keen to practice their new skills and come back in the autumn to lay more of Ken's hedge. Overall about a third of the entire hedge was laid, which was more than expected.
We hope to run more training days in the autumn due to the success of the days. This would allow people who were unable to attend to have the opportunity. We thank Ken Kelso for allowing us to use his farm and generous hospitality and also South Cambridgeshire District Council for a grant which allowed the day to go ahead.
