Double your donation. Double our hedgerows.

We’re very excited to announce that we have secured match funding for donations made between 18-25th April to our Hedgerow Heroes project.

We’re using the BigGive platform to manage donations. If you donate during the 18-25th April window your donation will be matched so your money will be working even harder! A £25 donation would become £50 and if you’re able to Gift Aid your donation it’ll be worth even more. The website will open for donations at midday on the 18th, closing at midday on the 25th.

What is the Hedgerow Heroes project about?

We aim to work with local communities to plant or restore at least 1,000 metres of hedgerow in Bedfordshire and to develop “Hedgerow Champions” who will continue to raise awareness of the importance of hedgerows now and in the future. We will also provide training to develop skills in hedgerow planting and management and opportunities for families to engage in hedgerow related activities.

What are we going to do?

• 2024 is the first phase of a three year Bedfordshire Hedgerow Project that will kickstart an ambitious initiative to lay at least 3,000 metres of hedgerow in three years. In the first year, we aim to develop the foundations to take this forward.
• In year one, we aim to focus on hedge planting and working with local communities to make this happen. This will include recruiting and training volunteers to become Hedgerow Champions in each project area.
• Through action days, events and family activities we aim to broaden awareness of the importance of hedgerows and provide opportunities for people to connect with the landscape and appreciate the benefits of being outdoors.
• We will Involve the local community and volunteers, community groups and businesses and help connect groups to each other and with CPRE Bedfordshire so together we can improve our local landscape, biodiversity and contribute to net zero.

How much are we aiming to raise?

Our target for this campaign is £5,000. This will look like:

• £1,000 – Recruitment and training sessions for volunteers
• £3,000 – Hedge planting 1,000m of whips, protectors, other planting requirements
• £1,000 – Production of family activity packs, activity days and events

If we don’t meet our target, we will still proceed with the project but may have to scale back our ambition. If we raise more than our target, then we will use funds for the next phase of the project.