Love at first hedge: our Hedgentines Day diary

Almost 50 volunteers, mainly young people aged between 18-30 years old, came together for ‘Hedgentines Day’ on Saturday 21 February – a Youngwilders creation now in its fourth year aimed at showing the love for hedges during the month of ‘Hedgeuary’.

Among other hedge-related activities, we planted thousands of tree whips in the sun and rain across three sites – Hampshire, Cheshire and Kent – to help restore our lovely hedgerows. The day was organised by our local CPRE groups, Youngwilders and The Conservation Volunteers, as part of the Hedgerow Heroes project and the epic, volunteer-led mission to plant 100 miles of hedgerow across England for CPRE’s centenary year.

Have a dip into our diary and read what we got up to…

Hampshire

A little bit of drizzle, grey skies and lush green grass greeted the dozens of young people who attended Hedgentines on Sandy Lane, in Romsey. We were all enthusiastic and did not let the weather stop us. With our waterproof clothing and beanies, we soon went to the other side of the field to start planting.

Paired with Adam, who had previous hedge planting experience, we cracked down on digging holes, selecting plants, discussing sustainability and joking about. He even gave me some good propagation tips for my house plants!

Kai, a hedge layer, told me he ‘loves hedges. They are super unique, super important. They support so many different species. Any opportunity to plant more, I’ll get involved!’

For many of the young people, it was their first time planting and discovering the world of hedges and they all endeavoured to participate in the activities of the day, such as the hedge-related quiz and the ‘hedge pledge’:

I hedge-pledge that from today,

I’ll help rehedge the UK.

If I can, and when I’m free,

I’ll lend a hand, occasionally.

But it was the planting that was the icing on the cake, with the group going above and beyond with the day’s target, despite the drizzle and the mud, strongly motivated by the prospect of making England’s nature and biodiversity a bit better off by the end of the day.

Ben has never been involved in any hedgerow planting before. He said, ‘I wanted to help rewild the UK. It’s been a lovely experience, despite the weather not willing to cooperate that much.’

Cheshire

Snack table heavily laden and sun miraculously shining, people arrived at The Bridge Community Farm in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, to help restore hedgerows. The space is lovely, with various sheds, polytunnels and fields, now owned by Autism Together, who intend to make it accessible to other charities who work on mental health and wellbeing.

Digging t-shapes in the soft soil to plant mixed hedge species – like hawthorn, blackthorn, hazel and elderberry – we laughed and chatted. It felt like a mini festival! In John’s words, ‘getting the chance to meet like-minded people really fills my heart’. Afradawn confirmed this, telling me ‘it’s very nice to connect with other people outside’.

We smashed out a long row of whips in no time and then it was a break for lunch and a hedge quiz. In the afternoon, we split into two groups as the sky darkened and the rain poured. But we carried on planting, mulching, nattering, till it was time to stop.

In the words of Conor, a now seasoned volunteer with Youngwilders, ‘I was feeling very grumpy this morning and didn’t want to talk to anyone, but as soon as I arrived on site, everything automatically felt better. I immediately felt like I wanted to be here. The group gave me energy, happiness and good vibes.’

Kent

The day started bright and early, on the train out to the furthest reaches of Kent. I was relieved to finally confirm the existence of the mishmash of British towns, the names of which I hear on every commute journey – Pluckley, Ashford, Wye, Chilham, Chartham, Canterbury West, and finally, Sturry. My destination for the day.

The lovely Youngwilders gang came to give us a ride from the station and I got chatting with my fellow hedge planters for the day: a small bunch of friendly folk, all in need of some of that good-old fresh air. After a quick rundown on the art of hedge planting, we got cracking and made such fast progress, I couldn’t believe it.

The sun graced us with its presence for a few hours before the grey took over for the afternoon. In that time, we had a fantastic time talking about hedges, learning about hedges (hedges existed in 5000BC!!), planting hedges, looking at hedges, eating biscuits next to hedges… By the end of the day, I wasn’t even convinced hedge was a real word anymore, but it was incredible looking back at the row of newly housed hedgerow trees knowing we had contributed to something that would exist long after us, providing endless benefits for nature.

Everyone left with a big smile on their face. On the train home, we sat together in a satisfying kind of silence that could only be caused by a sense of shared hedge-related achievement – and being absolutely knackered!