Our farm has begun a new project to develop hedgerows that create green space, cooling shade and native habitat on the farm. Let's look at the scope of this project.
First, what is a hedgerow? It is a planting of trees and shrubs that divides or borders a field, sort of like a living fence. Hedgerows can be narrow strips or wider clusters of uncultivated bushes and trees. They have been used for thousands of years all over the world to mark boundaries, shelter farmland, and confine livestock. Unlike a fence, the hedgerow also provides habitat for birds, insects and other animals native to the area.
Our current project is spread throughout our 320 acres of pasturelands, wetlands and forest. These new strips and small parcels of trees and shrubs will be put on 2% of the farm's total acreage. They will be planted with native species including white oak, Douglas fir, grand fir, dogwood, crabapple, giant sequoia, red cedar, and incense cedar where birds and insects can thrive, providing nesting sites, pollination opportunities, shelter for prey animals and even places to hide from us while we work the fields.
They will also conserve soil moisture by increasing the shade in an area. Shade helps the soil stay moist and cool by blocking the sun and encourages grass development in the hot summer sun by keeping them cool. Taller plants also create more habitat for grazing animals during inclement weather of all kinds: heat, wind, snow.
We set these goals along with the Soil and Water Conservation District and the Long Tom Watershed Council and hope to set an example of how to integrate pastureland and habitat restoration. This is a main tenet of regenerative farming: practice farming that will enhance the health of our environment rather than detract from it. By committing this small percentage of our acreage to the hedgerow we hope to increase the health of the entire parcel, helping both the land and its native inhabitants as well as serving our own agricultural goals.
John Deck has high hopes for this work. "We expect to retain an additional 2 weeks of moisture in planted and adjacent areas," he said. "The project includes 8.95 acres of planted area and if we include adjacent shaded areas includes 10 acres total of affected land. We should save the equivalent of 1” of rain on 10 acres, which is almost 272,000 gallons of water!"