Woodlands, trees and hedgerows

Woodlands, trees and hedgerows are an important part of Jersey's environment. They provide a wide range of environmental, economic and social benefits. These benefits include:

promoting wellbeing
supporting biodiversity
helping to tackle climate change
reducing the risk of flooding
filtering dust
improving local air quality
reducing noise
looking good
cooling an area and providing shade

Woodlands, hedgerows and wildlife

Woodland, trees and hedgerows are home to a wealth of wildlife, from shade-loving plants, mosses and delicate fungi to roosting bats and rare insects. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) estimate that hedges may support up to 80 per cent of our woodland birds, 50 per cent of our mammals and 30 per cent of our butterflies. Oak trees alone support 2,300 species of which 326 are entirely dependent on oak for their survival.

Woodlands, hedgerows and climate change

The entire woodland ecosystem plays a huge role in locking up and storing carbon which is important in combating climate change. This includes:

the living wood
roots
leaves
deadwood
surrounding soils and its associated vegetation

According to the Campaign to Protect Rural England a kilometre of a new hedgerow may store 600-800 kg of carbon dioxide equivalent per year, for up to 20 years.

The Minister for the Environment is assessing how Jersey might become carbon neutral by 2030. The Carbon Neutral Strategy defines carbon neutrality as the balance between the emissions we produce on island against any activity that captures, absorbs or reduces emissions so that they are equal. More information on how we are preparing for climate change is on this webpage.

As well as capturing carbon, trees also combat some of the effects of a changing climate. They help to prevent flooding, reduce city temperatures, reduce pollution and keep soil nutrient-rich.

Getting involved in planting and protecting Jersey's trees and hedgerows

There are lots of things you can do to help us plant and maintain trees and hedgerows in Jersey.

Jersey Trees For Life run a cheap tree scheme supplying at low prices, bulk quantities of trees and hedging plants for farmers and landowners.

The Jersey Biodiversity Centre provide an online recording tool to record where you plant woodland, trees and hedgerow onto a simple online map. This allows us to collectively report on plantings, so we can record the amounts planted as well as the species and their location. Recording this information allows us to coordinate planting projects to create wildlife corridors which connect habitats across the Island.

There are voluntary organisations who are involved in practical conservation work. Find out more by visiting their websites

If you are interested, you can join the Jersey Tree and Hedgerow Forum. This is is a group of local partners and individuals focussing on the protection, health, maintenance and strategic planting of woodlands, trees and hedges in Jersey. The forum has merged with the Jersey Tree Advisory council and now meets regularly with all groups and parties interested in the protection and conservation and of trees in Jersey. The forum has created a species reference list to guide landowners on what is best suited to plant for our local habitats. A pdf of this list can be found on the Jersey Biodiversity Website.

For more information please contact environment@gov.je