'Hedge funds' improving canal’s biodiversity

Work to improve wildlife-rich hedgerow running along the Montgomery Canal between Welshpool and Newtown is underway by Glandŵr Cymru, the Canal & River Trust in Wales.

The initiative is part of the ‘Putting Down Roots’ project thanks to funding from the Local Places for Nature Fund.

Volunteers have been undertaking hedge-laying along the canal towpath at Brithdir and Belan using a centuries-old countryside technique for maintaining biodiversity-friendly hedgerows.

They say that laying hedges will improve biodiversity and benefit the migration of wildlife along the canal. Where there are gaps in the hedgerow, the volunteers have been planting new sections of hedge so that the canal forms an unbroken linear habitat providing food and shelter for insects, birds and mammals.

Working alongside local contractor Handpowered, the volunteers have been trained to carry out the habitat hedgerow improvement work. They have also been planting a wildflower seed mix of local plants along the base of the hedgerow to further improve species diversity.

Jenny Spelling, ecologist at Glandŵr Cymru, said: “The project focusses on Welshpool and Newtown which are connected by the Montgomery Canal and which provides a wonderful green-blue corridor between the two places. Our charity’s work is part of the Local Places for Nature Fund which is a grant scheme intended to restore and enhance nature on people's doorsteps.

“As part of the project our volunteers and contractors have been making these improvements to the hedgerow along the canal allowing wildlife to move between urban and rural environments and, in doing so, giving residents the opportunity to experience nature close to home.

“As a charity we’re grateful for the support from the Local Places for Nature Fund in helping to support our volunteers in the skills needed to maintain these hedgerows and to help support wildlife along the canal. Research shows that being by water and in nature makes you healthier and happier, and this work will make the canal better for people and wildlife on this stretch of the Montgomery Canal.”

To find out more about the work of Glandŵr Cymru and what the charity is doing to improve the Montgomery Canal, visit canalrivertrust.org.uk and find out how you can support through volunteering or making a donation.