The Great British Hedgerow Survey

UK hedgerows

The hedgerows of the UK criss-cross our countryside providing an invaluable home to many of our native animals and corridors to travel along for others. Both of these are important to the maintenance of many species.

Hedgerows are so teeming with life that one study counted 2070 species in one 85 metre stretch. But how healthy are our hedgerows?

The survey

People's Trust for Endangered Species is looking for landowners and volunteers to help them build a national picture of hedgerows in the UK. The Great British Hedgerow Survey provides a health check for our hedgerows and gives tailored management advice to help ensure this precious habitat can thrive in the future.

Although the rates of direct hedge removal have been reduced, People's Trust for Endangered Species is still seeing the loss of hedges through the way they are managed. With many farmland species now marginalised to hedgerows, they believe it's time to look at the features of our hedges we can use to protect them.

The battle against the outright loss of hedgerows is being won, but evidence points to a worrying decline in hedgerow condition through poor management. If this persists, these hedges too will perish, dealing a further blow to the chances of survival for all the animals that currently call them home.

This survey is comparatively simple to do, but collects enough vital information to give a good assessment of hedgerow health, as well as robust advice for future management. It has been designed for both land mangers that may want to improve the structural condition of their own hedgerows, but also for interested wildlife groups that want to assess the quality of habitat in any particular area. The data will be collected in order to give a good overview of the condition of our hedgerows nationally.

What are the aims of this survey?

The 2 main aims of the Great British Hedgerow Survey are:

1. A health-check to assess the condition of each hedgerow surveyed. The results offer instant feedback and tailored management advice for each hedge to ensure the hedge thrives for the benefit of our wildlife in the future.

2. To collect data to get a national view of the condition of our hedgerows. Understanding the condition of our hedges gives us the best chances of helping restore them.

How will this help hedgerows?

There are 3 main ways this health-check aims to help improve the health of hedgerows:

1. The survey provides instant feedback on the health of each hedge surveyed, as well as placing it in the hedge management cycle and providing tailored management advice. This advice will help land managers keep their hedge in, or return their hedge to the healthy region of the hedge management cycle, ensuring it thrives and provides for our wildlife in the future.

2. The survey will collate data on a national scale that will reveal trends about hedge health. This will help focus a conservation effort and messaging on these trends in the future.

3. As part of this survey People's Trust for Endangered Species aim to raise the profile of hedgerows and their value both to our native wildlife and to us. They will showcase hedgerows as an asset, discussing how and why landowners should manage them to produce a bigger, better and more joined up network.

Before you start the Great British Hedgerow Survey

Get permission - whether you are surveying hedges as part of a wildlife group, a hedge group or contributing as an individual, if you do not own the land you will need to check with the landowner that they are happy for you to survey and send the survey data.

Please do not upload any data for which you have not got permission to share.

If you would like to take part, please visit the link and read the survey guidlines first >> https://hedgerowsurvey.ptes.org

Upchurch Matters
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FareShare Food Collection at Tesco Metro - Rainham

Registration is now open for this year's Tesco Food Collection on Thursday 21st, Friday 22nd, and Saturday 23rd November.

FareShare needs volunteers to help them collect food donations from customers in Tesco Metro - Rainham - part of the UK's largest food collection.

As a volunteer, you will be in store handing out FareShare "shopping lists" with suggestions of what to donate and collecting donations from customers whilst spreading some Christmas cheer.

The food you collect will then be redistributed to nearly 11,000 charities across the country.

You can make a big difference to the 8.4 million people currently living in food poverty in the UK, as donating just 3 hours to help collect food on any of the days above, could collect enough food for 600 meals!

Want to know how it works? Watch the short video here.

The video may not be visible in your Email.

Watch it at the link here >> http://bit.ly/353uhEZ

Sign up to volunteer as an individual or bring your colleagues, family and friends with you.

Sign up at the link here >> http://bit.ly/2LP1P27

Want to sign up as a group? Shift already full?
Email FareShare >> tescofoodcollection@fareshare.org.uk and they will book you in.

Upchurch Matters

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Swale Borough Council - Nominations Now Open for Volunteer Swale Awards 2020

It’s time to celebrate the hardworking hidden heroes within our community at the annual Volunteer Swale Awards. The nominations for the 2020 awards are now open.

The annual awards, once again being organised by Swale Borough Council, recognise the hard work of those special individuals who give their time to put something back into their community.

Cllr Richard Palmer, cabinet member for community at the council, said:

“There are so many people across the borough who give up their time to support others and their community to make Swale special. These people often go unnoticed in their hard work, so the Volunteer Swale Awards are a chance for us to give them the recognition and thanks that they deserve.

If you know someone who goes out of their way to help others or give up their time to make the community a better place, then you can help us say thank you by nominating them for an award.”

Nominations are open until Midnight Sunday 22nd December 2019.

To nominate that special individual or team simply download a nomination form to complete at: www.swale.gov.uk/volunteer-swale This can be scanned and emailed to: volunteer@swale.gov.uk or Freepost to:

RTJT-RZTJ-KYZK

Volunteer Swale
Swale Borough Council
Swale House
East Street
Sittingbourne
Kent
ME10 3HT

The Volunteer Swale Awards ceremony will take place in March 2020.

Swale Borough Council 

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UPDATE - Notification of Major Gas Works: A2 - High Street, Newington

I am writing to provide you with an update regarding our gas network upgrade in the A2, Newington.

Our engineers continue to upgrade our gas pipe in London Road at its junction with Oak Lane, Hartlip Hill. For everyone’s safety around our site, temporary traffic lights remain in place around our work area.

In agreement with Kent County Council to keep everyone safe, a temporary 30mph speed limit is in place and traffic will be able to enter Oak Lane from London Road. Canterbury Lane will be closed and Wallbridge Lane made one way with a signed diversion in place. Vehicles heavier than 7.5 tons will not be permitted to use side roads.

Following consultation with Highways England and Medway, an alternative route will not be in place for HGVs and no permit scheme will be used at this stage. Please be assured that we will continue to update local residents on the development of our work.

We appreciation your understanding and patience while we carry out essential gas mains replacement work in the area. Latest updates on our project can be found on our dedicated website page here.

If you have any further questions, please let me know

Kind regards

Paige Roberts

Stakeholder and Community Manager

SGN Gas

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Upchurch Horticultural Society - October Show

Sponsored by Upchurch River Valley Golf Course Ltd

OCTOBER SHOW

Saturday 19^th October 2019

Open to the public 2:00pm

UHS will be holding its October Show in the Barn to the rear of

97 Chaffes Lane

Tea, Coffee and Cake

Raffle

50p Stall

Auction of Exhibits

Ample Parking

Toilets

Sean Barry - Upchurch Horticultural Society

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October News from Upchurch Horticultural Society - From the Potting Shed

Sponsored by Upchurch River Valley Golf Course Ltd

Well the summer is over and Autumn rolls in and October is the big tidy up month. It can be a settled month with some warm sunny days and if summer does continue into October, I believe it is called a St. Jude’s summer, I think that’s what my Mother told me. The reality is that October is a month of rapidly shortening days and falling temperatures with a chance of a first frost and then the clocks go back. I like to get all the clearing up done this month before the muddy days arrive in November when I keep contact with the garden to a necessary minimum.

October is when the last cut is done on the lawn although all the time the temperature is above 6°C grass will keep growing and there’s nothing wrong with a quick trim any time of the year. But once the mower is put away in the garage or the shed it is unlikely to come out again until Spring. The main job to attend to is raking up leaves to allow light to the grass and avoid disease as the leaves start to rot.

Start tidying up the borders so that the early spring bulbs will appear at their best, although this year the Autumn tidy will be the first one for me as this job has proven a step too far this year. Keep deadheading, trimming and fertilising until the frosts bring the perennials to an end. Dahlias have been good this year and the wetter weather has kept everything flowering well through the summer. The water butts have coped and not run dry so quite a lot of colour albeit hidden amongst the weeds. Now is a good time to lift and divide perennials and also to take hard wood cuttings from shrubs. I collected a lot of Lupin and Delphinium seeds in the summer and re-sowed but nothing has germinated……!! Hopefully you have plenty of Autumn colour with Chrysanthemums, Sedum and Anemones, plus the roses are still going.

Anenome Japonica.

Clear up the vegetable patch and take all the summer vegetables before the first hard frost and be careful where you store the surplus. Beans and peas will finish off this month so cut them down and dig a trench for next year and start filling it with garden and kitchen compost. Clear all the weeds and dig the patch over leaving the winter vegetables to stand in the ground. Just remove any dead leaves to control fungus levels. I leave Leeks, Parsnips and Maincrop Potatoes over winter and store Marrows indoors. Unfortunately my soil is too thin and sandy for winter brassicas, but if you do have cauliflower over winter, the heads may need protecting from the frost with horticultural fleece.

Finish harvesting apples and late pears this month and store away from frosts. Tidy up the strawberries and clear around the base of the plants to allow air to circulate. I leave my Braeburns as long as possible in October before harvesting to get as much size as possible. I have meticulously thinned the mass of fruit throughout the year and have about 30 decent sized apples this year as opposed to the 300 golf ball sized apples in previous years.

It’s not all over and done with, there are still small jobs to do through the winter, but the end of October is the time to retire indoors, settle down by the fire and start planning next year with a pint of your favourite.

We are always looking for new members and try to encourage a fun attitude towards friendly competition. So if you want to grow your own fruit, vegetables and flowers or even enter any of the 3 shows we hold each year, then please get in touch, we would be happy to hear from you.

If you are interested in becoming a new member, (all ages are welcome), please contact Rosey on: 01634 377812 (evenings) or Email: rosemary@ringwoodaccounting.co.uk

Sean Barry - Upchurch Horticultural Society

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