Community Hedge Fund: Lasham Village Committee

Villagers turn out for environmental action day

Lasham, a small village with just 87 houses and 175 people, demonstrated its’ caring community spirit in a day of environmental action on Saturday 25^th Feb 2023.

Villagers of all ages turned out and small groups set off armed with litter pickers, bags and high vis jackets. After scouring the hedgerows and verges and clearing all the roadside litter, the groups reconvened at the Church for coffee and cake before tackling their next challenge, planting a new hedge.

The Lasham Village Committee applied to the CPRE Hampshire Community Hedge Fund scheme and as Caroline Egleston explains: “The opportunity to apply gave us the impetus to get going with our project. We had been talking about planting a hedge between the churchyard and the village pub, but seeing the scheme being advertised and getting advice and support from the hedgerows officer gave us the push that we needed.”

Like so many hedges, the original boundary between the pub and the church had previously been neglected. Oversized trees had been removed and left two big gaps.

The whole village were invited to take part in the event. On the day, volunteers from the village committee lined up alongside the church warden and children returning from the litter pick. It was tough going as old tree roots and stony ground made digging difficult. However, with true grit and community spirit the hedge was planted before the last piece of homemade coffee cake had been consumed!

A new hedge taking root and a successful day all round. Well done Lasham.