Normandy, France, November 2023
As 2024 draws to a close, a new hedge planting campaign run in partnership by A Tree for You and Bois Négoce Energie is about to get under way. Around 15,000 young trees and shrubs will be planted this winter 2023/2024 in the Orne, Manche, Calvados, Seine Maritime, and Oise departments of France.
In July and October 2023, the A tree for You team went out into the field to visit planted plots and talk to farmers benefiting from the project. This was an opportunity to see first-hand what has been done in the field and to understand all the benefits of planting hedgerows in Normandy.
For several years now, there has been renewed interest in planting hedgerows. But why this revival?
Quite simply because hedgerows are multi-functional, or multi-tasking! Behind every project is a farmer with different objectives in mind!
1. For the landscape
The planted hedge will enhance the countryside and the surroundings of the farm, as well as clearly marking the boundaries between two meadows or two cultivated plots.
2. For biological balance
The hedgerow will provide shelter and food for wildlife. It will regulate the climate: temperature, wind, and water.
3. For protection
The hedgerow will shelter animals, people, and buildings from storms, rain, and noise. It protects the soil from erosion and run-off, and crops from evapotranspiration and wind.
4. For production
The hedge will grow fruit and flowers that can be used by people and animals. It will also produce wood, mainly for heating.
Several major trends emerge from the projects carried out through the partnership between ATFY and BNE. Cereal growers plant mainly for landscape reasons. In their own way they want to help beautify the landscape, as well as marking out their plots of land from neighbouring fields or nearby homes. Livestock farmers, on the other hand, generally plant trees to protect their animals from heat or bad weather. In both cases, most of these farmers tend to be interested producing energy wood, which can be harvested around 15 years after planting.
Whether for the landscape, biological or climatic reasons, the newly planted hedgerows meet a wide range of objectives forthe farmers involved. This is truly satisfying to observe, especially at a time when we are facing increasingly serious environmental challenges.
Text written by Luc Bertrand, from Bois Négoce Energie
On the previous planting waves
