The Hampshire Hedge Marks Major Milestone with Celebration Event

CPRE Hampshire marked the near completion of its flagship project The Hampshire Hedge on Friday 20^th February with a dedicated Hedgefest event hosted on the Broadlands Estate, near Romsey.

The event brought together landowners, funders, partners and community collaborators for a day of demonstrations, activities and a showcase of traditional hedge laying skills.

Now in its final phase after almost three years of delivery, the Hampshire Hedge project is one of the largest initiatives within CPRE’s national Hedgerow Heroes programme. The project aims to create a continuous wildlife corridor linking the South Downs and the New Forest National Parks, strengthening nature recovery across the county.

To date:

• Over 13,724m of new hedgerow has been planted, towards the target of 15,000m
• 68,620 whips have been planted by an exceptional team of volunteers who have contributed over 13,678 volunteer hours to the project. The final target is 75,000.
• The project has also engaged 2,744 young people
• It has supported 36 community hedgerow initiatives
• Worked in partnership with 35 schools across Hampshire

A major highlight of the celebration was a friendly hedge laying competition, delivered in partnership with the South of England Hedge Laying Society, whose support and expertise were instrumental in bringing the competition to life. The competition featured Novice, Intermediate and Experienced categories, with more than 30 people competing throughout the day. This included six young trainees who have spent five months learning practical countryside skills alongside professional hedge layers through CPRE Hampshire’s hedge‑laying course.

In the main marquee, visitors enjoyed an engaging hedgerow management talk from Megan Gimber of the People’s Trust for Endangered Species, exploring the ecological value of healthy hedgerows and the role they play in supporting wildlife.

Throughout the day, guests could also take part in hedgerow‑inspired craft and puppetry, as well as a hedgerow ID workshop, offering opportunities to learn more about the diversity and importance of native hedge species.

Speaking of the event, Richard Jordan-Baker, a Director of Broadlands said: “Broadlands was very happy to host this important event and work alongside CPRE Hampshire. Hedge laying is a work of art and a crucial part of traditional country life – a skill and craft that should be encouraged, supported and understood.”

The Hampshire Hedge has been made possible thanks to funders and partners which include: the Campaign to Protect Rural England National Hedgerow Heroes’ project, Hampshire City Council, Hampshire County Farms, The Linbury Trust, The National Lottery Heritage Fund, The Tree Council, The Spurgin Trust, University Centre Sparsholt, The Tree Council, Hampshire Forest Partnership, Test Valley Borough Council, The Big Give Green Match Fund, Winchester City Council,  Habitat and Wildlife Conservation Society, Culture in Common, The New Forest National Park and the South Downs National Park – Trees for the South Downs scheme.

A Countryside Vision for Hampshire

The Hampshire Hedge project began three years ago with a clear ambition: to create a living link between Hampshire’s two national parks while enriching the landscape and providing essential habitat routes for wildlife. With more than half of England’s rural hedgerows lost since 1945, restoring these vital ecosystems is central to tackling habitat fragmentation.

“Hedgerows are powerful connectors in our landscape,” said Ellie Banks, CPRE Hampshire Hedgerow Project Officer and the driving force behind Hedgefest. “Wildlife increasingly exists in isolated pockets, and hedgerows play a crucial role in linking these habitats. It has been inspiring to see so many people – from volunteers to farmers to community groups – come together to support this project. We simply couldn’t have achieved this without them.”

Celebrating 100 Years of CPRE

Hedgefest also marks CPRE’s centenary year, commemorating 100 years of campaigning for and protecting the county’s countryside. Since its founding in 1926, CPRE has continued to champion sustainable, nature‑rich landscapes through advocacy and hands‑on restoration projects.