Cate West

Living dangerously. Writing about it. Opinions my own.
Creative writing courses and workshops.
Agent: Charlotte Atyeo @EverSoBookish @GreyhoundLitAg

[ALEXIS ™I ❤️🇷🇼• @dufitalexis1]

Britain has lost around half its hedgerows since the Second World War. The wildlife that depended on them has followed a similar trajectory. 🌿

The old field boundary — a strip of blackthorn, hawthorn, dog rose, and elder two to five metres wide between cultivated ground — was not wasted agricultural space. It was a functioning ecological system that maintained pollinators, pest predators, and farmland birds across centuries of working land.

Each hedgerow is a nesting corridor for grey partridge and skylark, a foraging habitat for brown hares and hedgehogs, a site for solitary bee colonies, and a windbreak for the crops alongside it.

The field cultivated to its very edge gives the maximum return this season. It removes the populations of beneficial insects, farmland birds, and small mammals on which stable long-term production depended.

The field with a hedgerow yields a few percent less per cultivated hectare — but remains productive across decades without compensatory chemical inputs. The documented declines in grey partridge, lapwing, and skylark across the British agricultural landscape since the 1970s are directly linked to field consolidation and hedgerow removal.

Practical equivalents for the garden or smallholding:
- A strip of wildflower meadow at least one metre wide at the plot boundary
- A clump of nettles in a shaded corner as a habitat base for red admiral, small tortoiseshell, and peacock butterflies
- A native mixed hedge of blackthorn and hawthorn in place of post-and-wire fencing
- A section of uncut grass between rows of fruit trees

#HedgerowHabitat #FarmlandWildlife #NativeHedge #GardenWildlife

[Cate West @c8west]

@NorthGravy Great news!

[Cate West @c8west]

@Tree_Folklore @folkhorrorforum It's very old and doesn't always blossom in abundance, but it seems to be a good year for it so I will check.

[David__Osland @David__Osland]

The NHS is routinely described as 'unsustainable'. But that adjective never gets applied to arms spending, bank bail-outs or tax dodging by the rich.

[Diane Abbott @HackneyAbbott]

If the government wants to sell our data to US Big Tech and wants to further curb our civil liberties, it should say so honestly.
But saying this will stop small boats is ridiculous.

Starmer to unveil digital ID plan and ignite civil liberties row
https://t.co/dxJER59efI

[Cate West @c8west]

@louise__powell @johnmurrays Super news, congrats Louise! Look forward to reading

[NorthernGravy @NorthGravy]

Attention all Fiction fans! All of our copies of the Northern Gravy Fiction anthology for both pre-orders and writers have now been posted!

Caused a massive queue in the post office, but they’ll be with you all shortly!

Dont forget to let us know when they arrive!

[Cate West @c8west]

@NorthGravy Amazing, looking forward to this.

[Cate West @c8west]

Be cruel to me #wolverhampton

[Cate West @c8west]

@laurabesley @FictiveDream @nicholasroyle Thank you! I'm thrilled.

[Cate West @c8west]

@writingwestmids @WritersCentre

[Cate West @c8west]

@bronwengwriter @Mslexia Amazing! Congrats, Bronwen!

[Cate West @c8west]

@Kerry2001 @FictiveDream @nicholasroyle @rosieauthor Second that!

[natashahardingwrites @natashahwrites]

Publishers - I'm very light on books that are being released in November and December - I know it's a quieter time but please get in touch if you've got anything that NEEDS reviewing! [email protected]

[Cate West @c8west]

@Cheryl_ThePeril @saltpublishing @nicholasroyle Thanks Cheryl x

[Cate West @c8west]

Book post at the weekend!
Big thanks to @saltpublishing and @nicholasroyle.
It's an honour to be in the company of such superb writers.
I buy this anthology every year, and I'm still overcome to be in it.

[Cate West @c8west]

@AliGraham562985 @saltpublishing @nicholasroyle Thanks so much!