hedgelink - working together for the UK's hedgerows

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All About Hedges

Welcome to hedgelink. The first place to look for information on the UK's native hedges, hedgerow conservation and hedge management.

More about hedgelink »

Visit the Photo Library »

 White face Dartmoor rams in front of a hedgerow.

The hedgelink photolibrary is full of hedgerow related images such as hedge landscapes, livestock used for hedge management and wildlife in hedges.

Have a look and see how beautiful hedges can be.

Go to the hedgelink photolibrary »

Featured Content

Hedges for children and teachers

Hedgelink have designed an educational package for teachers and children to learn about hedgerows.

Drawing of animals in a hedgerow. A dormouse is enlarged under a magnifying glass.

Children can do educational games such as Hedgerow Hunter, where you search through a hedgerow and discover the wildlife that lives there.

There is also information on how to do a hedgerow survey, complete with teacher notes and survey forms for different seasons. And for teachers there is a whole section that helps link the topic of hedgerows to the primary curriculum.

Hedgelink's educational resources »

A Cut Above the Rest »

 hedgelink DVD cover

Hedgelink DVD 'A Cut Above the Rest' highlights the importance of hedges and gives practical hedgerow management advice. You can watch it online or request a free copy.

Watch the hedgelink DVD »

What's new

Attitudes to hedge Management »

Research funded by Defra has been undertaken to determine current hedgerow management practices and the reasons that underlie decisions by farmers and contractors.

 Attitudes to hedge Management

Wood Fuel »

New research confirms that hedges can be managed sustainably to produce cheap wood fuel. Hedges can be economically harvested as a source of biomass and renewable energy. This is a major opportunity to help conserve hedges for the future as well as help reduce climate change. Read more...

Jordans Art of Outdoor competition »

Jordans, the cereal brand, has won Ocean Outdoor's The Art of Outdoor competition, in partnership with Brand Republic, for an augmented reality ad, Hedgerow Home, created by Grey London.

 Jordans Competition

Hedgerow Futures Conference A Success »

Over 60 people attended the first International Hedgelink Conference held at Staffordshire University in September.

 Hedgerow Conference 2012

A little rough guide around the hedges

A little rough guide around the hedges: a guide produced by the CPRE to celebrate hedgerows. The guide includes a handy hedgerow plant identifier to help you when you are out exploring the countryside.

Hedgelink visit to Suffolk »

Hedgelink visited two farms in Suffolk this summer: Dennington Hall Farms near Bruisyard and Stanny House Farm near Iken. Read the full report here.

 Hedgelink members on a field visit in Suffolk

Hedgerows for Dormice Project Ends »

The Hedgerows for Dormice initiative has completed. The project provides a roadmap to improve hedgerows for dormice as well as a host of other species.

 Hedgerow monitoring under the Hedgerows for Dormice Project

New Hedgerow Harvest website »

Hedgerow Harvest aims to put people back in touch with their foraging heritage and inspire them to plant productive fruitful hedges in their communities.

 Hedgerow Harvest website

Fuel from hedgerows case study »

A case study on the economics of harvesting wood for heating fuel from hedgerows. The study shows that it's highly economic to extract the wood for use in wood stoves, provided the hedge is going to be layed anyhow.

 Logs from a hedgerow in a stacked pile ready to be used as fuel fore a fire or woodburner

Uptake hedgerow options in ELS and HLS »

Briefing on the uptake of hedgerow options within ELS and HLS and how the schemes may be changed to improve their effectiveness in helping farmers to deliver more for hedgerows.

 Hedgerow full of autumn berries showing a rich food source for birds

Ten Top Tips for a Healthy Hedge »

Hedgelink, in conjunction with OPAL, has produced these 10 top tips to help you make your hedge a really good wildlife habitat.

 10 Tips for a healthy hedge