Hedges and Edges project plants and restores 5km of new hedgerows

Next week is National Hedgerows Week (4-10 May 2026) and landscape charity Friends of the Lake District is celebrating having planted 2km of new hedgerows in Cumbria and restored a further 3km of hedgerows – a total of 17,860 trees planted!

The hedges were planted by more than 100 volunteers and staff between November 2025 and March 2026. The charity has also laid and restored nearly 3km of hedges – a total of over 5km of hedge work this winter, as well as running events such as hedgerow foraging and hedge management training.

Hedgerow Heroes

Part-funded by CPRE’s Hedgerow Heroes, Friends of the Lake District’s Hedges and Edges project is planting new hedgerows where hedges would once have been, in agricultural landscapes, to improve biodiversity, providing habitat for wildlife, shelter for livestock natural flood management, and carbon sequestration.

Naomi Walker, Nature Recovery Officer at Friends of the Lake District, who is leading the project said: “Our Hedges and Edges project is all about planting and restoring hedgerows, as well as improving the management and surveying of hedges. These strips of trees and grass verge might look unassuming, but they can be home to a wide variety of plant species and can be biodiversity powerhouses if managed correctly.

“As well as working with farmers, we’ve also done some hedge planting in community spaces such as Kirkby Lonsdale Football Club and St. Peter’s Church in Askham. It’s nice that the people who helped us plant these hedges can go back to these areas and watch them grow.”

Hedgelaying and Restoration

As well as hedge planting, hedge laying and restoration also took place during the project. The hedge laying was done largely by skilled contractors, who manage the hedges using new and traditional methods. Laying and coppicing are crucial to the hedgerow’s longevity and condition. By mimicking grazing and damage from large animals, new growth is encouraged. This gives the hedges their thick bushy look, keeps them stock proof, and provides habitat for wildlife. It takes the young hedge plants 7-15 years to become mature enough to be laid for the first time.

Hedges date back to the Bronze Age

Hedges are part of our cultural heritage, with their existence dating back to the Bronze Age. Rural skills once used to manage them are being slowly lost, which is why the charity wants to help keep them alive and spread good practice. One way it’s been doing this is through its annual Hedge Laying Competition, which it has been running since 1977 – for 49 years! It also runs training sessions so new people can learn the skill.

A wide range of people of all ages and backgrounds have been involved in the project. One hedgelaying trainee said: “It was great to learn more about hedge laying and have a go at it guided by such friendly, skilled craftsmen. It was also helpful to be paired up with someone who had done some hedge laying before.”

Now the winter tree planting season has finished, the charity is planning summer volunteer hedgerow survey sessions. The aim is to assess the current condition of Cumbrian hedgerows, and to survey them for nature and wildlife value. Volunteer hedgerow surveying opportunities will be advertised our events page.

The charity plans to plant and restore another 6 kilometres of hedgerows next winter, if it wins the anticipated funding for the next phase of the project.

National Hedgerow Week events

It is also holding two events during National Hedgerow Week – a Hedgerow Survey Morning (learn how to ID hedgerow trees and survey hedgerows) and a Forage and Feast event (learn all about edible hedgerow plants and taste some hedgerow produce) on the afternoon of Sunday 10 May. Book here: https://www.friendsofthelakedistrict.org.uk/events/

Find out more about the project on our Hedges and Edges page: https://www.friendsofthelakedistrict.org.uk/work/hedges-and-edges/.