Hidden Hedgerows

Managing data and mapping hedges in the Rusland valley to inform hedgerow conservation and management decisions.

Clients: Cumbria Wildlife Trust on behalf of Rusland Horizons
Date: 2018
Services: Database Creation, Data Input, Data Management

The Hidden Hedgerows project is focused on surveying, conserving, restoring, and planting hedgerows within the Rusland Valley area. Hedgerows are extremely important for wildlife in the UK; they act as animal highways, allowing them to move safely from habitat to habitat, and through otherwise inhospitable landscapes.

Rusland Horizons and the Cumbria Wildlife Trust asked CBDC to design and build a database to store survey data from the Hidden Hedgerows project. In addition to creating this database, CBDC also provided data analysis, and contributed to the production of an overall hedgerow report for the project. To help Rusland Horizons and volunteer recorders move forward with the project, we produced digital GIS maps of the data gathered, which included maps of surveyed and non-surveyed hedges.

This was the first time hedges have been surveyed in the area and provided a valuable opportunity to gain baseline information and a clear indication of the issues affecting Rusland hedgerows. With the indispensable contribution of volunteers and apprentices, the project restored several hedges within the area by carrying out traditional laying techniques. New hedgerows were also planted at several locations around the scheme area which will contribute considerably to the area’s landscape in years to come.