Parks are good for you - and can be for nature, too!_ Blackwater Park

This hedgerow in Blackwater Park is just teeming with plant and animal life: from the invisible life in the soil to the visible life we see before us.

Nowadays hedgerows are essential for keeping a healthy population of wildlife in Ireland. They add structure to areas, buffer storm water, store carbon and help reduce air pollution. In the past, our ancestors relied heavily on the plants of the hedgerow for food and medicine. From bramble flowers, blackberries, hawberries, whitethorn spring leaves, rosehips, sloes, nettles, dandelions, goosegrass/cleaver plants… the list goes on! Native plants were treasured and widely used.

Hedgerows are also essential to Ireland's native mammals providing food and shelter for wildlife, including our Hedgehogs. You’d be lucky to catch a glimpse of one as they are more active after dark and are true to their name: they use hedgerows as cover to avoid predators.

Open your eyes to the wonders of the Irish hedgerow, what can you see? Listen: You might hear the sounds of the Sparrows that take shelter in the hedgerows.

HOW YOU CAN HELP: You can ask your local council to have a read of the Navan Community Biodiversity Action Plan for how to support and protect our living heritage hedgerows. And how about planting a hedgerow in your garden for some zero travel miles tasty hedgerow treats? You can learn more about our hedgerows at www.hedgerowsireland.org

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