National Trust begins 23 km hedgerow project
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- National Trust launched a 10‑year hedgerow restoration programme at its 1,000‑hectare Wimpole Estate in Cambridgeshire, targeting 23 km of hedges.
- Staff and volunteers planted 30,000 trees and coppiced or laid 2.3 km of hedgerow during the winter season.
- Dave Hassall explained that each restored hedge expands the network, improves landscape resilience to climate change, and creates firebreaks.
- The programme will coppice 10 % of existing hedges, lay 6.7 km of new hedgerow, and plant 13.8 km of hedgerow, adding about 83,000 native trees and shrubs.
- The hedgerows provide habitat for red‑listed farmland birds such as corn bunting, yellowhammer and linnet, and winter food for fieldfares and redwings.
Why it matters: Farm wildlife and the Trust's agricultural operation gain expanded habitat and soil protection, while the hedgerow network becomes more resilient to climate change, supporting red‑listed birds such as corn bunting, yellowhammer and linnet, and providing winter food for fieldfares and redwings, which can bolster biodiversity and farm sustainability.
