Cash available for hedgerows and dry stone walls in the North York Moors

Grants of up to £5,000 are on offer in the North York Moors National Park for the creation and management of hedgerows and the repair of dry stone walls.
Grants of up to £5,000 are on offer in the North York Moors National Park for the creation and management of hedgerows and the repair of dry stone wallsGrants of up to £5,000 are on offer in the North York Moors National Park for the creation and management of hedgerows and the repair of dry stone walls
Grants of up to £5,000 are on offer in the North York Moors National Park for the creation and management of hedgerows and the repair of dry stone walls

The Traditional Boundary Fund seeks to restore and enhance these often overlooked field features, which in fact form a hugely important part of the landscape and character of the National Park.

They also provide essential habitats for wildlife, as Senior Ecologist Elspeth Ingleby explained:

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“Hedgerows provide a home, corridor and important food-source for birds and wild pollinators, but they also help prevent soil erosion, capture and store carbon, reduce flood risk and lessen the amount of pollutants that enter rivers.

"And while dry stone walls might not seem like an obvious haven for wildlife, their nooks and crannies provide ideal microclimates for a wide range of plants and animals including insects, amphibians, reptiles and small mammals.”

To help land managers protect and maintain these traditional features, the North York Moors National Park Authority is offering grants towards the creation or renovation of hedgerows and the restoration of dry stone walls.

"The fund is aimed at field boundaries in the National Park that aren’t already in receipt of funding from other sources and priority is given to areas of particular historic or environmental interest.

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Miles Johnson, head of historic environment, conservation and climate change at the North York Moors National Park Authority, said: “Boundaries of all types help to tell the story of the North York Moors landscape.

"Through studying boundaries we can see the large enclosures of grazing land in the 17th and 18th century, ring-fenced farms perhaps with origins in the medieval period.”

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