 |
Home
|
|
|
|
|
Cottenham Environment Audit
Location: Cambridgeshire
Cottenham Environment Audit was set up to raise awareness and appreciation of the countryside of Cottenham parish, and to encourage future efforts to enhance it. The Audit is a joint initiative by Cottenham Village Design Group, Cottenham Footpath Group and Cottenham Wildlife Group. The project began in 2001 with a grant from the Local Heritage Initiative.
The Audit has promoted a number of different strands of activity which all contribute to meeting its overall aims:- Boundaries and Hedgerows Survey - carried out by volunteers and made possible thanks to the cooperation of local landowners who allowed us access to survey on their land
- Boundaries Survey Report which provides information for understanding and action and a baseline for future research
- Art Project with Cottenham Village College students led by printmaker Tom Martin
- Landscapes Around Cottenham : a series of commissioned photographs by Richard Heeps
- Landscapes Around Cottenham : postcard pack
- Consultation and communication - Landscape questionnaire, website with interactive map
During the period spring 2002 to summer 2004 the Cottenham Environment Audit Group surveyed 219 field boundaries within the parish of Cottenham (outside the built environment) to record the make-up and condition of the hedgerows, trees, ditches, lodes and other features forming them. The methodology used was based on that of the Suffolk Hedgerow Survey under the auspices of the Suffolk Coastal Greenprint Forum
Several types of boundary were found, the majority being hedgerows and fences of one sort or another (interlaced with remnants of hedgerows). Very little hedge planting appeared to be going on, and hedgerow management was very patchy.
Shrub species were the most frequent found, making up the bulk of boundaries – hawthorn was found in 87% of the shrub-containing boundaries surveyed, bramble in 50% and elder in 35%. Trees were infrequent in the boundaries, only 230 being found. The most common species were ash (25.2% of all the trees found) and oak (13.9%). Surprisingly some 12.2% of the trees were elm. The herb layer was not specifically surveyed but occasional species of interest were noted.
Many of the boundaries originate from the Enclosures of the 1840s and from post-World War II agricultural improvements, so the hedgerows are relatively young. Cottenham’s market gardening and orchard history has left its legacy in the plot sizes and in the number and variety of boundaries.
Landscapes Around Cottenham is a new series of photographs by Richard Heeps created as part of the Cottenham Environment Audit. He was commissioned by the Audit Group to record a personal view of the land within the parish boundary. Taken throughout one year, his photographs are both art work and document. They reveal the special, and often understated or underrated delights of the local countryside. They show its different uses and activities, and capture its looks and moods through the seasons.
From his first shoot on the day after the big snowfall in January 2003, he has come up with over 30 photographs in which familiar and characteristic features – orchards and hedgerows, waterways, farming, allotments, footpaths, the racecourse - are transformed in memorable and evocative images.
Some of the photos commissioned by Richard Heeps can be viewed here, more are available on the project's website (see link).
Before completing its work at the end of 2006, the Audit Group will:- Publish and distribute a map/leaflet as a guide to the countryside of Cottenham parish
- Draw up recommendations for future action distilled from findings of and feedback from all the different strands of the Audit.
| Grants: |
Heritage Lottery Fund: £8,187
|
|
|
|
|
