South Downs Trust Hedgerows

The James Tuttiett Charitable Trust was delighted to provide financial assistance to the South Downs Trust in helping to restore and revive our hedgerows into havens buzzing with biodiversity. This has been match funded through The Big Give.

Hedgerows provide food, shelter and breeding locations for wildlife. Many hedgerows have been lost in recent decades but the South Downs Trust aims to reverse this trend and restore hedgerows to our countryside for nature and people to enjoy.

Sophie Ritson, who oversees fundraising for the Trust, explains why hedgerows are so incredible

“Hedgerows are an amazing habitat! They are truly an oases for wildlife, providing homes, song posts, shelter and nesting opportunities for some of Britain’s most threatened bird species such as the yellowhammer and whitethroat.

“Mammals such as hedgehogs and the adorable hazel dormice use them for nest sites and highways to link between feeding sites. Bats use them for migration and insects and other invertebrates, such as moths and bees use them as transport corridors between core habitats.

“Species-rich hedgerows can provide an important habitat for up to 30% of our butterflies – providing shelter from the wind, basking spots in the sun, and nectar plant diversity from the range of species such as blackthorn, hawthorn, holly and ivy. 

“Unfortunately, many hedgerows have been lost in recent decades but we aim to reverse this trend and restore hedgerows to our countryside for nature and people to enjoy. Through the six Farm Clusters in the South Downs National Park, hedgerow restoration projects will target sites where replanting and gapping up will produce the most benefit for wildlife.

Hampshire Hedgerows is an ambitious project focuses on delivering hedgerow restoration at scale at various sites within the Selborne Landscape Partnership and Winchester Downs Farm Cluster.

The latest winter season of hedgerow work is complete, with 33 hedgerows being restored this year through new planting, gapping up, coppicing and hedge laying across 14 holdings in the Selborne and Winchester Downs farm cluster areas.

The total length of hedgerow restored this winter is expected to be 8.1km, building on the 12.7km restored in the first year of the project and taking us over our original 20km target. 
 
Farmers in the Selbourne Landscape Partnership are already reporting dormice using hedgerows restored in year 1, and the project will benefit specific species such as yellowhammer and brown hairstreak bufferfly.
 
To help the South Downs Trust with their ‘Hedgehomes’ initiative through The Big Give’s #GreenMatchFund please go to: South Downs Hedgerows (biggive.org)

Anything donated between 18th and 25th April will be match funded – effectively doubling your donation!