CPRE Hampshire – What have hedgerows ever done for us? And what we can do for them!

Join CPRE Hampshire for an online talk by Megan Gimber from PTES to learn about the vital importance of hedgerows and what we can do to help.

We walk past them all the time; they are functional; useful in dividing our land; and helpful in creating a path.

Perhaps one of the more humble and understated features of our beautiful countryside, the hedgerow actually plays an enormously important role in the health and diversity of our land, our wildlife and even our climate.

Hedgerows are the unsung hero of the countryside. They clean the air we breathe, capture carbon helping to mitigate climate change, and provide vital homes for wildlife and pollinators. They are natures key workers.

Join CPRE Hampshire, the countryside charity, and Megan Gimber of the Peoples Trust for Endangered Species, for a FREE online talk and discover just how important they really are.

The talk will cover:

• The ENORMOUS wildlife value.

• Why that might be the case given they are a man-made habitat.

• All other values including climate, environmental, farm values, flooding and pollution.

• How are our hedgerows doing? What do we know and what don’t we?

• How should hedgerows be managed? The lifecycle approach, including laying, rejuvenation and sensible approaches to trimming.

• The incredible history of our hedges and what value this can bring.

• What we can do to help hedges and what CPRE Hampshire is doing in the New Forest.

Megan Gimber is a self confessed Hedgerow nerd, working for People’s Trust for Endangered Species specifically on hedgerows and other ‘woodland edge’ habitats such as wood pasture and traditional orchards.

She is passionate about the hedgerow habitat and all of the benefits healthy hedgerows can bring; for wildlife, for farmers and for the environment. And a key part of this work has been putting together an interactive hedgerow survey that feed back information about hedge health as well as bespoke management advice.

An advocate of managing hedgerows according to their inherent life cycle, as described by Nigel Adams, she tied this approach to a free, simple hedge management app called Healthy Hedgerows. This app is designed specifically for farmers and other landowners to help them bring hedgerows back into lifecycle management, ensuring both their health and their future. Find out more about the Healthy Hedgerows app here: https://hedgerowsurvey.ptes.org/healthy-hedgerows-survey

The talk will be held on Zoom, and the meeting link will be sent closer to the event date.

Megan can often be found chatting hedge on twitter at https://twitter.com/FavColour_Green, although her other passions; ancient trees, orchards and proper cider, sometimes also make an appearance.

CPRE Hampshire, the countryside charity, is passionate about creating sustainable communities, protecting green spaces and regenerating the environment so that it’s rich in nature and helps us respond to the climate emergency.

We believe that by taking a balanced approach to growth and the needs of all of us who live and work in Hampshire, we can ensure the protection of our beautiful Hampshire countryside as well as our future prosperity for generations to come.

To learn more about us please visit www.cprehampshire.org.uk or find us on social media.