Frank had managed to find us a hedge that had been laid by the Society around 20 years ago- we are not sure why some of it was laid downhill, but to be fair there was slope undulation and we ended up having an interesting change of lay direction .
The hedge itself was a mix of hazel , hawthorn and field maple and was challenging due to the amount material that needed to be cut out- it had obviously grown on very well since it was last laid.
We were very well looked after by John Madden and his team from the Lingfield Nature Reserve, who provided hot drinks and biscuits at elevenses and lunch in the Scout Hut- all much needed and appreciated.
Joy Dyson, Fund Raising Manager from Chailey Heritage Foundation gave us a short talk on the wonderful work done at Chailey Heritage and what an uplifting, happy place it is to be part of. Monies raised from the Annual Competition raffle and hedge laying at the reserve will be donated to Chailey. More can be found about Chailey at Sussex Disability Charity | Education Care Transition | Children and adults (chf.org.uk)
It would be very remiss not to mention the sterling efforts put in by our Chairman, Phil Hart- not only did him and Frank work out how to tackle the hedge with the cutters available, but he cleared a large area of brambles and laid around 20 yards, leaving site around 6pm.We would have been stuck without him.
So yes, the day was a win, win , win result:-
- Win - a really nice hedge was laid , which looks splendid and enhances ecological value
- Win - In total £1374 ( includes £364 from Competition raffle) was raised for Chailey Heritage Foundation
- Win - SEHLS members had a great time