About hedgerows and barbed wire......

The few hedgerows left in our landscape bring warmth, charm and.....life! Unfortunately the charming hedgerows are antiques of the past and now our landscape is divided by barbed wire, electric fences and wooden fences.

Hedgerows are the boundary between two sections of land. The hedgerows are in fact the edge of two forests where the middle of the forest has been removed. You can see this by the Maas hedge area in Boxmeer in North-Brabant. This creates a special situation for many of the breeding bird that live at the forest edge.

People have taken over the land where the animals used to call home and then we have divided these parcels of land with the use of unfriendly dividers. Many of the fences are the same types that are used around prisons to prevent the prisoners from breaking out: barbed wire. The landscape is covered with barbed wire fences. Even nature organizations use barbed wire; it is a cheap way to close off fields to either keep animals in or trespassers out.

A young tree falcon caught in a barbed wire fence

Birds that get caught in barbed wire fences die a slow painful death. Sometimes these birds are found and freed before it is too late. If these birds are found in time they will be brought to a Bird Sanctuary where they will be cared for with patients and love, here they will be given the chance to recover from their wounds.

Some sheep herders get grants from the government to use their sheep to eat grass in nature areas. This is an ecological manner to have the grass shortened without use of machinery. These sheep farmers often use electrical fences to keep the sheep in the designated area, thus allowing the farmer to tend to his other chores. The herders can be seen in their traditional sheep herding clothing at their annual festivities.

A wild duck strangled after he was caught between two lines of electric fencing.

The need for more human housing is taking over the fields and wooded areas of our landscape, thus causing the disappearance of many types of plants and animals. This is the very reason that there need to be better ecological areas for the plants and animals, the answer to this problem are hedgerows.
Hedgerows are a natural boundary for animals and people. These hedgerows give animals a safe and comfortable place to live and breed. With running water in the area the animals have a great chance to recover their numbers and reproduce in their natural environment. The introduction of hedgerows will benefit not only the plants and animals in the area, but it also gives the landscape more character and life.

A hedge in Maas valley full of life.

Through out the last century the nature has been changed. These changes include the destruction of 200,000 kilometres of hedgerows and of natural river beds. These changes have affected nature's delicate balance. It is our responsibility to restore this balance for the generations to come.

The Maas hedge row.

To give a clear idea of just how important these hedge rows are there is a film, "De Maasheggen.....moet je Mei zien!".
In this film demonstrates the benefits of the hedgerow and exactly how to build them.
Folders and cards will be available soon and there are plans for Brabants folksinger to write songs about the importance of these hedges.

Young owls in a Hawthorn tree.

We have to continue the fight. We are pleased to say that people and organizations are starting to listen. There is new interest in placing hedgerows back in the nature areas; this interest is from both government and private individuals. Hedgerows are again a topic for our nature reserves. The hedgerow is back!

At higher elevations the badgers dig their dens as they have done for centuries.

Kees Dijksterhuis wrote a program for the NRC with tips from a book from Jaap Dirkmaat's new book "Terug naar de heg" (Back to the Hedgerow) with tips about how to give the nature back to the animals and plants.
In Maasdal, the city of Boxmeer has taken a supporting role to repair damaged hedge rows. There are now new and repaired hedge row for hundreds of kilometres.
The railway is looking at creative ways to reintroduce hedgerows along the train tracks to reduce vandalism, give the hedgerow a double function. The city of Eindhoven with the help from this work group will be repairing and introducing braided hedges for the Urkhovense Zeggen, an area in Eindhoven.

Braided hedge.

Here barbed wire or an electric fence is no longer necessary. Different schools in Eindhoven are transforming the landscape by planting hedge rows. This more charming way of dividing the landscape is as it was when the student's grandparents would have remembered seeing it, two generations ago.

This Linnet is keeping an eye on the neighbourhood

The hedgerow needs to come back to the country side and it will! With help from government agencies, many land owners will find that this area will be the loveliest of their land. This future will be better for everyone.

Young church owl

With the help from the film, and the repairing our landscape, we can leave a legacy to our children of a more charming country side full with plants and animals. Therefore we can eliminate the need for barbed wire and electric fences that can damage and kill the nature. Together we can bring back the charm and animals to our country sides.

Freedom!

For many species of bird that live outside of the city, barbed wire is a disaster. Especially for the horizontal hunter such as: sparrows, hawks and falcons. Owls, doves, many ducks species suddenly take off flying and often get caught in the fences. Birds that get caught in the barbed wire and electric fences die a slow and painful death. Unless they are found in time and are taken to a bird sanctuary for recovery.

A sparrow caught in the barbed wire

The Netherlands, in the last one hundred years have lost 200,000 kilometres of hedgerows. Because of the changes in agriculture, namely artificial fertilizer and letting the animals actually into the fields the Hawthorn tree was removed from the nature and replaced with barbed wire. These jewels, hawthorn trees, are now being recognized for the beauties that they are and are being reintroduced into the landscapes to help house and protect or wildlife.
The film, : "De Maasheggen.....moet je Mei zien!" (25 min.) is highly recommended for viewing.

The producers are:
Loek Ketelaars & Jan Wijn.
Telefoonstraat 6
5641 SN Eindhoven
Telefoon: 040-2813694

If you would like to make a comment or order the film?
Please e-mail .

Text and photography:
Loek Ketelaars & Jan Wijn.