First aid kit
Keep this with you at all times. The recommended contents for a work party are:
A first aid kit suitable for use in a workplace for up to 10 people
| Guidance card | 1 |
| Waterproof plasters | 20 |
| Sterile eye pads, with attachment | 2 |
| Individually wrapped triangular bandages | 4 |
| Safety pins | 6 |
| Medium sterile dressings (12cm x 12cm) | 6 |
| Large sterile dressings (18cm x 18cm) | 2 |
| Alcohol free cleansing wipes | 6 |
| Scissors | 1 |
| Pairs of fine transparent disposable plastic gloves | 2 |
| NOTE: Where mains tap water is not readily available for eye irrigation, sterile water or sterile normal saline (0.9%) in sealed disposable containers should be provided. Each container should hold at least 300ml and should not be reused once the sterile seal is broken. At least 900ml should be provided. Eye baths or other refillable containers should not be used for eye irrigation. | |
| NOTE: The first aid kit must be kept in a suitably marked container which will protect the contents from dust and damp. | |
From experience on projects, the following ‘welfare kit’ is also found to be useful:
Welfare kit suitable for use in additional to a first aid kit
| Pair of tweezers |
| Safety pins |
| Needle and thread |
| Pencil |
| Sanitary towels |
| Whistle |
| Toilet roll |
| Cotton wool |
| 30 plasters |
| 3 finger pouches |
| Rubber gloves |
| Insect repellent |
| 2 x 10p pieces |
| Sun cream |
| Barrier cream |
A list of local hospitals with casualty departments should also be to hand.
Planting
- Treaded garden spade
- Garden fork
- Mattock
- Trowel, for transplanting small seedlings.
- Sharp knife, for cutting long roots and damaged fibre.
- Twine, for lining out the hedgerow.
- Stakes or poles, for marking the hedgeline.
- Rule or stick cut to length, for setting out plants at the correct distance.
Trimming, cutting and laying
- Billhook
- Axe
- Slasher or long-handled hook
- Treaded garden spade
- Mattock
- Bow saw. The triangular 21” (533mm) bow saw is suitable for most purposes. The 30” (762mm) bow saw is needed for larger material if a chain saw is not being used.
- Pruning saw. This is a narrow saw which is useful for cutting closely spaced branches.
- Loppers, for trimming brushwood and untangling pleachers above head height.
- Mallet, mell or wooden billet, for knocking in stakes.
- Fencing pliers, for removing old fencing from the hedge.
- Rope, which can be useful for pulling and separating tall pleachers.
- Sharpening stones. Slashers and hooks are best filed with a cylindrical stone. Axes needs a flat, circular stone. Use either type on a straight-edge billhook.
- Flat file, for taking out nicks in edged tools. Carry one with you unless it is more convenient to do major sharpening in a workshop at the end of the day.
Fires
- Matches and dry kindling
- Pitchfork
Fencing
For complete details on fencing, see Fencing. The minimum additional equipment needed for fences such as those mentioned here is:
- Crowbar
- Wrecking bar (‘swan neck’)
- Claw hammer
- Fencing pliers
- Where old fences are being removed, take a container to collect the staples.
Optional equipment
- Gorse hook or other short-handled hook, sometimes used as a trimming tool by Welsh hedgers.
- Shears. For trimming garden or other hedges, where neatness is important.
- Secateurs. Needed only for trimming in Welsh hedging competitions.
- Crook. Some Welsh hedgers use a short crook cut from a hedge or coppice to help hold branches out of the way when trimming. It is especially useful when cutting gorse hedges, used in combination with a gorse or furze hook.
- Boards or mats, used only in West Country competition turf hedging. These are laid over the turf so that it is not trampled during work.
