Events run from Friday, 29 August to Sunday, September 7, and include demonstrations on how to plant and manage hedgerows, how to maximise their benefits for biodiversity, and how to provide them with seasonal care.
The celebration commences with a webinar on Friday, August 29 as part of the Teagasc Signpost Series where speakers from Teagasc and the Heritage Council will outline a whole-farm hedge-cutting strategy for farmers. A number of events are being led by local authority biodiversity officers and include hedgerow and foraging walks in Meath, Kilkenny, Offaly and Laois, as well as a hedge laying demonstration in Offaly.
A full list of events is available on the Heritage Council’s website on https://www.heritagecouncil.ie/our-work-with-others/national-hedgerow-week
Speaking in advance of National Hedgerow Week, Teagasc countryside management specialist, Dr Catherine Keena said: “With the hedge cutting season opening in September, it is an appropriate time to celebrate hedges as the shopfront to farms. As we drive through the countryside, farmers should take pride in this most valuable network for nature. Hedges come in all shapes and sizes but for management they fall into two categories – topped and treeline hedges, and both are valuable providing different habitat spaces for our native biodiversity. A best practice management demonstration for these two hedge types will be fully discussed at the event at Teagasc Kildalton College on Thursday, September 4.”