Community Hedge Fund: Burgate School & Fordingbridge Town Council

Burgate School and Fordingbridge Town Council joined forces in February 2023 to plant a 100 meter hedge to celebrate the town’s well-loved recreation ground on the banks of the River Avon.

The recreation ground, home to the Fordingbridge Turks, one of the oldest football teams in the country, is a well-loved community green space, established over a 100 years ago for the wellbeing of the community. As well as wild swimming in the River Avon, locals and many visitors enjoy a wide range of sport and leisure activities on offer at the site.

Cllr Anna Wilson, Mayor of Fordingbridge explains: “The Town Council have been looking at all the green spaces in the town as part of our Nature Recovery Plan. With advice from Ellie, Hedgerows Officer at CPRE Hampshire, we saw an opportunity to break up the open amenity nature of the recreation ground with some native hedge planting. As luck would have it, when we measured the area, it was 100 meters long! So the idea of a celebration centenary hedge was born.”

Cllr Pat Earth, Deputy Mayor said: “We will be celebrating at the recreation ground with a community picnic on the 7^th May. The hedge project is just one of a number of green initiatives we are spearheading in the town. With support from the open spaces team at New Forest District Council, we have just completed some hedge laying work at our Community Orchard on land at Sweatford Water Meadows. Burgate School are currently designing a sign for the site.”

Bella and Sophie, members of the Eco-club at Burgate School, explained how else they have been involved. “We have planted 50 trees in front of the school, undertaken a litter bin survey at the school and organised a clothes swap at Christmas. It’s great to be planting this hedge. We are excited to see what it will look like in a few years time.”