Hedgerows

Hedgerows

Posted on Feb 21, 2022 by jsw  | Tags: Hedgerows

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. And all the while they help tackle the climate crisis by capturing carbon.

We’d like to see more hedgerows planted and restored, and are campaigning in support of the Climate Change Committee’s call for a 40% increase in the extent of hedgerows by 2050 to help tackle the climate emergency.

Our hedgerows campaign is calling for #40by50. But what does this mean?

The government loves talking about tree planting and peatland restoration, but it seems to have forgotten our hedgerows. We’re campaigning for them to commit to a target for planting and restoring thousands of miles of hedgerows across the country.

'We need a 40% increase by 2050 at the latest.'

40: We want to see the hedgerow network increase by 40%. This number was recommended by the independent Climate Change Committee and is equivalent to about 120,000 miles in Britain – half way to the moon!

50: This is the time frame. We need a 40% increase by 2050 at the latest. This requires adding over 4,000 miles of new and restored hedgerows per year, starting now.

See the main CPRE website for how you can support the campaign