Know Your Hedgerows: Project celebrates the heritage of Kilkenny’s hedgerows

A training project that aims to celebrate the heritage of hedgerows and encourage community stewardship across Kilkenny has been launched.

Know Your Hedgerows is supported by Kilkenny LEADER Partnership (KLP). Hedgerows are a distinctive and unique feature of the Irish landscape and a vital part of our shared cultural heritage.

Speaking at the launch of the Know Your Hedgerows training project, Kilkenny LEADER Partnership Chairperson, Kevin Mahon invited communities across Kilkenny to get involved in this project.

“Know Your Hedgerows aims to connect communities to their local landscapes and generate community led stewardship of our hedgerows as a vital resource for biodiversity and connection to our heritage,” he said.

Over the coming year, the Acorn Project will collaborate with community groups throughout the county through a series of training events, heritage projects, and celebration events. These initiatives will document and promote awareness of native hedgerows, fostering a greater appreciation for their environmental and cultural significance.

Hedgerows provide essential habitats, shelter, nesting sites, and food sources for wildlife. They also serve as natural corridors for biodiversity, act as carbon sinks, help mitigate flooding, and provide shelter for farm animals. Beyond their environmental benefits, hedgerows are embedded in Ireland’s cultural heritage.

Hedgerows reflect Ireland’s ancient field systems and townland boundaries, many of which contain archaeological features. Communities are invited to collaborate on heritage projects that map these ancient townland boundaries and document local customs and traditions related to hedgerows.

One fascinating tradition in North Kilkenny, as shared by folklorist Patrick Doyle, is the custom of planting an apple tree in a hedge. In keeping with this tradition, communities across Kilkenny are asked to help identify and map the county’s oldest heritage apple trees.

Through this effort, heritage apple trees will be grafted and distributed, enabling communities to reintroduce them into hedgerows across the region. If you have an old apple tree or orchard, or are a community group who would like to host an apple grafting day, contact office@theacornproject.ie.

The Acorn Project is proud to be part of the Know Your Hedgerows initiative in partnership with KLP and rural communities across Kilkenny. The hope is the project will raise awareness, inspire appreciation, and contribute to the restoration of hedgerows as both a cultural and natural resource.

These initiatives will play a crucial role in preserving Kilkenny hedgerows, landscape and biodiversity for future generations. Community groups that would like to get involved or host a hedgerow workshop can call Maura 086- 3104008 or register on theacornproject.ie/know-your-hedgerows.