Hedgerows are vital for providing all important wildlife corridors, shelter, food and a breeding ground for a vast array of wildlife as well as helping to bind soil together which acts as a barrier to prevent soil erosion.
Many of our hedgerows across Hampshire and the South Downs National Park are in poor condition – or in some cases (for those of us who are old enough to remember) – sadly removed completely. This greatly threatens species, which is why we’re helping to support this key project of restoration.
Farmers, volunteers and rangers will select and focus on restoring specific hedgerows in areas to create a ‘nature highway’, improving both their quality and connectivity.
We were pleased to provide support previously to contribute to the restoration of 20 km of hedgerows in other parts of the park which has helped to house Britain’s rarest mammal, the Barbastelle Bat – and the harvest mouse, a species which has been locally extinct in Hampshire for 25 years!
This hedgerow highway project will be completed in Autumn 2022. To learn more about this important area of conservation, click here.
Keen to get involved? Here’s how.
Did you know the scientific name for a harvest mouse is Micromys Minutus and it’s the only UK mammal to have a prehensile tail?!
To see how this adorable creature has made it back to Hampshire through the success of the hedgerows project read here.
© Colin Davis
© Nick Robinson
© Nick Robinson