I welcome your editorial (4 September) urging people to support biodiversity in their gardens, and I agree that so much agricultural land has become a hostile environment to wildlife.
A local naturalist once referred to the fields of East Anglia as a desert when it comes to wildlife and biodiversity – prairies for crops and little else, with an occasional border of a stunted hedgerow.
I sit here in my garden, listening to the nauseating ripping and graunching, as a mechanical hedge cutter lays waste the bountiful harvest of the nearby hedgerows; the hawthorn berries, sloes, elderberries, rosehips, and an abundance of blackberries. An hour ago, before the heat of the day, we walked our dog along the track, the hedge full of life: birds, butterflies, and a profusion of other insects. Food for a whole host of animals.
Tomorrow morning, all we will see will be the split and fractured stumps of the trees and bushes, vanquished in their quest to grow, to provide food, and be part of the rich biodiversity that would be possible, if only a little thought had been given as to when to “trim” this amazing food source for animals, as the seasons move towards winter.
Sue Boase
Haverhill, Suffolk
• Have an opinion on anything you’ve read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.
