Park Life with Swindon Ranger Linda Knight Before you start picking up your pens to write to your MPs, the motorways I am talking about have a huge positive impact within our parks, and, if you haven’t guessed it already I am actually talking about the hedgerows that permeate through the landscape.

Although many of our hedgerows were planted in the 18th and 19th centuries during the enclosure of fields and development of agriculture, there were undoubtedly hedgerows planted much earlier.

The word “Hedge” is in fact ancient English hege or Anglo Saxon haga and refers to hedges that were planted as boundary markers, shelter and fences to keep animals in or out and even for defensive purposes.

Overtime the hedgerow developed not only as boundaries but as a resource for farmers who accessed them fuel and for timber construction.

However, in the 20th century hedgerows began to be neglected as the labour force was depleted and the demand for intensified food production increased. Hedges began to be ripped out to create larger fields and the introduction of barbed wire decreased the need for the hedgerows to be maintained for keeping in the stock.

In 1946 there were an estimated 500,000 plus miles of hedges in England, but this has rapidly declined with an estimated 300,000 miles being destroyed by 1993.

Wildlife experts recognised hedgerows as being valuable habitats in their own right and after a lot of campaigning and lobbying the hedgerow act of 1997 was brought in to stem the flow of hedge destruction.

Hedgerows are a vibrant ecosystem, providing a major shelter and food source for a huge variety of mammals, birds and insects and looking into the future people have started to actively restore, repair and replace hedgerows to support this vital system for our threated wildlife.

On a grey and very wet morning last week the volunteer rangers were doing just that, setting out two new hedgerows within Coate Water Country Park with young saplings donated by the Tree Council.

Ross Shepherd, a volunteer tree warden for the tree council and one-time volunteer ranger, had applied for the pack and led the day of planting. Without organisations like this and the dedication of the people who come forward week after week, vital work to manage and support our natural environment would not happen.

The future would be much bleaker for our wildlife. So that one soggy day planting 480 native saplings will go some way to balancing the scales back and for that I have to say a huge thank you to all who were involved.

l If you would like more info, or to get involved, call the Ranger Team on 01793 490150, email us at swindonrangers@swindon.gov.uk or visit www.swindon.gov.uk and search ‘Volunteers.