CPRE’s Lewis Townsend Explains Why Hedgerows Might Be More Important Than You Think

Over 4,000 years ago, Bronze Age settlers signalled the dawn of agriculture in Britain. Dense woodland was commonplace, bursting with biodiversity that had been developing, unhindered, over unimaginable periods of time. 

Underneath these ancient forests lay nutrient-rich soil, untapped and ideal for growing food. So our earliest farmers cleared this woodland to make room for farming, but they did leave strips of trees to mark field boundaries. These earliest hedgerows were grazed by livestock and coppiced for wood, and you might still find fragments of these today on the borders of towns and villages.

For most of their history, hedgerows have largely been viewed as serving human needs. They enclose livestock, create divisions across land to signify ownership, and create privacy. But in doing so they also produced a living, breathing natural network across our lands. A patchwork of wooded growth, with lush plants and wildflowers thriving at the base. A highway, safe haven, and canteen for wildlife. Hedgerows are a classic feature of our countryside, and an intrinsic part of this island’s history. 

Shortly after the Second World War, the Agricultural Act was passed. Designed to bolster food security and independence, farmers were offered cash to remove hedgerows from their land, leaving more room to grow crops. This meant that some parts of the country lost around 50% of their hedgerows. This had a devastating impact on wildlife, and - unknown at the time - diminished our natural defences to climate change. 

In more recent years, action has been taken to restore our hedgerows, but we need to do more to revitalise these wildlife networks, and plant new ones - bringing life back to our fields, villages, towns and cities. It’s become about much more than privacy and stock-proofing. We stand to benefit so much from a richer hedgerow network, both physically and mentally. 

This is why CPRE, the countryside charity, is calling on the Government to restore 40% of our hedgerow networks by 2050, and why it’s been campaigning on their behalf for almost 100 years. In 2021, CPRE received funding for our hedgerow restoration across England. Volunteers restored 5km and planted 15km of new hedgerows, with more to take place thanks to the project being renewed. This winter, CPRE Nottinghamshire is working with Green Hustle and Nottingham City Council’s Parks and Open Spaces team to restore hedgerows in Bulwell Hall Park, Snape Wood, and Rushford Drive Park. 

Bulwell Hall Park is a wildlife oasis, about 25 minutes on foot from Bulwell tram stop. It was originally the private garden of a manor house, then called ‘Pye Wipe Hall’. The house and surrounding land was owned by John Newton, and over time sections of the land were sold to become housing. Much of it, however, remains as Bulwell Hall Park. 

The park is a beautiful and diverse mix of woodland and grassland, and home to a variety of meadows (with unusual species like the bee orchid and bladder campion). In spring, its woodlands burst to life with wild garlic and dog’s mercury. 250m of mixed hedgerow will be planted here, which will improve and extend the wildlife network and give locals and visitors an even richer nature experience. 

Snape Wood Nature Reserve is a species-rich woodland near Bulwell, and is cherished by the local community. The woodland is cared for by a dedicated group of volunteers who, among other things, undertake regular litter picks and help to promote this wildlife haven. 

The woodland is teeming with life. In spring it’s carpeted with wood anemone and bluebells, indicating its ancient origins. Volunteers will be planting a variety of native species, filling in hedgerow gaps and creating a wildlife corridor along the boundary. 

The final project is a little different; it’s located at Rushford Drive Park, a recreational green space just west of Wollaton Park. A deep-dive into historical Ordnance Survey maps from the late 1800s suggests it was once part of a woodland plantation. It would appear it remained as woodland in some form until the mid 1900s. At this point, most of it was cleared, leaving rough pasture behind. Some of the more mature trees in the park, and bordering Fernwood Crescent, may be the only evidence that woodland was once there. Inevitably, the area was built upon - but thankfully a green space was carved out which is Rushford Drive Park. 

The park is set in quite a built-up area, so a length of native hedgerow will create corridors for wildlife between the local gardens and green spaces. Crucially, it’ll also help give the local community better access to nature. 

These three volunteer-led projects will take place this winter. It’s going to be wonderful to reconnect and revitalise hedgerows in these three areas of Nottingham. The hope, of course, is that over time more communities mobilise and help restore hedgerows in their area. 

We need to safeguard the place of hedgerows in our cultural history. But, for reasons that transcend our heritage, we need to write them into our future too. The environmental argument for hedgerows is clear. They’re life-giving corridors for a huge range of animals and insects. Well-managed hedgerows support up to 80% of our birds, 50% of our mammals and 30% of our butterflies. Wildflowers at the base of hedgerows also add to this rich habitat. At a time when we’re facing habitat loss at alarming scales, hedgerows have never been more important.

In terms of climate, hedgerows capture and store huge quantities of carbon - one study found that they store 31% more carbon than grassland. Hedgerow roots stabilise soils and make them more porous, which helps in the (increasingly likely) event of flooding and landslides. They protect crops and wildlife - and us - from extreme weather. They help prevent pollutants from reaching watercourses. The list goes on… 

Like trees, grasslands, peat bogs and woodland, we need to harness the natural defences we have against climate change and habitat loss, and integrate them back into our villages, towns and cities. This doesn’t just benefit wildlife, it benefits us all.

Sign up to volunteer for the Hedgerow Heroes project online

cpre.org.uk