Wild Oxfordshire & CPRE Oxfordshire are delighted to be working with Kidlington Parish Council, Watlington Climate Action Group, Eynsham and surrounding parishes Nature Recovery Network, the Wychwood Forest Trust and other local hedgerow heroes to, not only plant new hedgerows, but rejuvenate exhausted ones. National CPRE is calling for Government commitment to increase hedgerow cover by 40% by 2050. The 1997 – 1999 CPRE Oxfordshire Hedgerow Survey concluded that there was approximately 7,820 km of hedgerow in Oxfordshire. For Oxfordshire, a 40% increase would see an additional 3,128km by 2050 – or 108km a year, which sounds ambitious. However, equally distributed across the county (there are 235 parishes in Oxon), it’s only about 0.5km per parish per year, for the next 30 years! We won’t be delivering 3,138km, but it’s a start and we are hoping to create an inspiring and helpful community project template to encourage others to take action for hedgerows on their patch. Thanks to a generous funder, five county CPRE groups are embarking on a volunteer-led project to plant and restore of over 15km of hedgerow and boost public engagement in local landscapes.
“Before the advent of the flail hedge trimmer (only 50 years ago), hedges were cut and laid in a circa 10-year cycle, so only 10% were cut in any one year. There were also more hedges – and the remaining 90% of uncut hedges would have been of varying growth stages. Hedgerows were the countryside’s larder – pink and white with blossom in the spring, and red with fruit in the autumn. Every living creature had a corridor linking to the diverse farmland around.” Rob Crocker, Oxfordshire Farmer
Hedgerows in the news: Plantwatch: a climate solution is hidden in the hedgerows & Reservoirs of life’: how hedgerows can help the UK reach net zero in 2050
How to Survey Hedgerows
How to survey the condition of a hedgerow using:
The People’s Trust for Endangered Species Great British Hedgerow Survey
Healthy Hedgerows App. To download the app for free, visit the Apple Store or Google Play and search for Healthy Hedgerows.
DEFRA Hedgerow Survey Handbook
Hedgerow Species Identification
Local Hedgerow Suppliers & Trusted Contractors
Murray MacLean, 01865 391242; murraycollinsfarm@gmail.com
Planting New Hedgerows
Funding: Woodland Trust can subsidise up to 75% of new hedging.
Species to plant:
Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna)
Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa)
Guelder rose (Viburnum opulus)
Spindle (Euonymus europaea)
Crab apple (Malus sylvestris)
Holly (Ilex europaeus)
Hazel (Coryllus avellana)
Field maple (Acer campestre)
Buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica)
Management & Rejuvenation
Hedeglink’s Guide to Hedegrow Management
Frequency and timing of
hedgerow cutting
Hedgerow Rejuvenation improves the long term quality for wildlife
Positive impact of hedgerow rejuvenation on invertebrate communities
Learn to hedge lay with: The Cotswolds Conservation Board & The Wychwood Forest Trust
Hedgerows & the Law
The Hedgerow Regulations were introduced in 1997 to help protect hedgerows. New rules regarding management of hedgerows came into force in 2015 (under cross compliance):
In long – the actual legislation
Eynsham’s Local Nature Recovery Network about the glory of hedges
We would like to acknowledge and thank CPRE & CPRE Oxfordshire for their generosity in supporting this project & their historic and ongoing defence of Oxfordshire’s hedgerows and countryside.
