Biodiversity corridors flourishing at Haywards Heath nature walk thanks to traditional skills of grounds team

The team used traditional hedge laying techniques at the wildlife nature walk adjacent to Haywards Heath Cemetery in Western Road in spring.

Grounds team member Darren Hulbert, who is also a member of the South of England Hedge Laying Society, helped train other members of the team while laying the hedge.

A town council spokesperson said: “The team is delighted that this is now flourishing, providing essential biodiversity corridors for all the different insects and other creatures that now live in them.”

They said that the art of hedge laying dates back to Roman times and is a countryside skill that is practised throughout the UK and Ireland.

The spokesperson continued: “The Haywards Heath Grounds Team used this traditional hedge laying technique as hedges play an important part of the ecosystem, offering homes and protection to a wide range of native birds, animals and wildlife, providing excellent weather protection and helping hold the soil together to help prevent erosion and flooding.”

HRH King Charles III is the patron of the National Hedge Laying Society and has planted more than 15 miles of hedgerows at his Highgrove home and at the Sandringham Estate.

Darren said he believes that the time and skills that hedge laying requires are essential for the benefits it provides to the local environment for Sussex people and wildlife because hedges play such an important part of the UK’s ecosystem.