Hedgerows for All

Hedgerows are the vital stitching in the patchwork of our countryside. Not only are they beautiful, with shifting seasonal colours, but they also provide homes and corridors for wildlife in both rural and urban areas. And all the while they help tackle the climate crisis by capturing carbon.

We’d like to see more hedgerows planted and restored, and CPRE campaigned successfully to persuade the government to accept the Climate Change Committee’s call for a 40% increase in the extent of hedgerows by 2050 to help tackle the climate emergency. 

The UK hedgerow network has shrunk by about 50% in the last 70 years. Hedgerows make up our largest ‘nature reserve’, providing vital ecosystems, but are still under threat. Hedgerows have been removed, mismanaged, neglected or affected by development in the countryside. 

Importance to wildlife

Hedgerows provide a variety of habitats and different features of the hedgerow help different species.

The Hazel Dormouse is one of our rarest small mammals, and hedgerows are important to them throughout the year. Dormice feed on blackthorn and hawthorn flowers in the spring and hedgerow fruits, such as blackberries and hazel nuts, to fatten themselves up in the autumn. They need a good network of hedgerows so that populations don’t become isolated.

Bats use hedgerows to commute between feeding and roosting sites. Hedgerows extend how far bats can forage and supply insects that bats depend on for food. Some bats pluck insects directly off plants.

Around a third of our butterflies breed in hedgerows and need them for food, shelter and corridors.

We all associate hedgerows with nesting birds, but they also provide song-posts and perches for territorial birds. The old bird nests provide shelter and habitats for insects.

Not just for nature

CPRE Bedfordshire has planted many new hedgerows in communities. Enhancing green spaces and providing a connection with nature, which is recognised to support good mental health. A report from the Mental Health Foundation highlighted that “Nature is an important need for many and vital in keeping us emotionally, psychologically and physically healthy.”

CPRE Bedfordshire’s Hedgerow Heroes Planting

CPRE Bedfordshire has planted around 2000 metres of hedgerows in the last few years and we intend to carry on!

Read about our most recent planting season.

Help us plant more hedgerows

CPRE Bedfordshire will be fundraising this spring to enable us to continue the project.

The Big Give Earth Rise fundraising campaign runs from 22nd  until 29th April. During this time, we receive double the value of your donations though a match funding opportunity.

So that’s two trees for the price of one!

Donate here