A super-highway for wildlife, made up of three kilometres of newly-planted hedgerows, is being created at a remote Eryri (Snowdonia) landscape, boosting the prospects of endangered birds, bats and other rare mammals.
The hedges will create corridors that connect the landscape at Y Foel to larger woodland spaces, and offer a lifeline to a host of woodland species such as Lesser Horseshoe Bats, who use hedgerows as ‘commuter routes’ after dark to find their way to feeding areas and roost sites
The project is the first in a series of works on the remote 1,600-acre (647 hectare) site, contributing to the conservation charity’s ambition to boost the area’s wildlife populations, help tackle the climate emergency, and safeguard the landscape’s remarkable cultural heritage.
The hedgerows will stretch to the length of 30 football fields and once established, they will benefit nature, people and climate by connecting habitats, capturing carbon and helping to reduce flooding in the local area.
In the future, the hedgerow highways will also support rare mammals such as dormice and pine martens as well as more common animals like hedgehogs, weasels and field mice as wildlife corridors.
Looking ahead, Trystan Edwards, General Manager for Eryri (Snowdonia) at National Trust Cymru said: “An exciting future lies ahead, with plans for nature-friendly grazing, blocking man-made ditches in deep peat allowing them to function naturally to store carbon rather than release it, and restoring rivers.”
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Posted On: 03/01/2023