Here is the latest flier showing proposed routes - including through North Dorset. Includes how to support the project.

And here is a press release received on 16th September.

Volunteers sought for ‘important’ project to save Dorset’s hedgerows

An ambitious plan to create a continuous line of hedgerows across Dorset to correct the damage to nature of recent years is looking for local volunteers to make it happen.

To be launched next week (17-24 Sep), the ‘Great Big Dorset Hedge’ project aims to cover the county in hedgerows from east to west and north to south in an attempt to recreate the ancient network that existed until the last century.

The project, being promoted by Dorset Climate Action Network’s team looking to improve land use in Dorset, is aiming to set up a network of volunteers to walk the footpaths and trailways of Dorset to survey the hedges and provide data that will be fed into a comprehensive map of the whole county.

The map will then be used to identify what exists, where hedges need help, and places where they need to be added to.

Joint project coordinator Ian Duckworth said: “We have a team of talented people that have already set up a system to assess and map the condition of hedgerows across the county and input data into the map. We’re now looking for volunteers to walk the trails and survey the hedges. Volunteers would be provided with training, maps and survey sheets for the areas they plan to walk.”

“In many areas of Dorset, hedgerows are well managed and are examples of what a hedgerow can be in terms of providing an extensive habitat for wildlife, reducing soil erosion, holding back flood water, providing shelter for livestock and crops and increasing carbon capture. But in some areas, hedgerows have been removed, lost from lack of maintenance, or have become overgrown and no longer form a hedge. It is these areas, where hedgerows are less of a feature, that the project aims to tackle to restore the landscape and enhance the existing connections enabling many kinds of wildlife to move within and across the county, greatly benefitting biodiversity.”

The survey of existing hedgerows and areas where hedgerows would ideally be sited is only the first stage of the project.

“Other trails which cross this will enable as many people as possible to contribute to their own areas,” said Julie Leah, joint project coordinator. “Each volunteer will be asked to walk lengths of the trail and document what is there and its condition. This can then be added to the map.”

“In due course discussions with landowners will lead to hedges being planted, gaps filled or hedges re-laid, as the surveys recommend and funding and volunteer planting groups are available. Our vision is to have a fully mapped system which can tell us where hedges need support.”

“It’s hoped the project may lead to increased employment for hedge-layers and experts in the field of hedgerow maintenance. As a separate part of the project, everyone is welcome to add any newly-planted or improved hedgerow to the growing GBDH map.”

“The Great Big Dorset Hedge is an important long-term project” said DorsetCAN organiser Jenny Morisetti, “which will help to realise Dorset CAN’s vision of a more biodiverse, sustainable, and carbon-rich landscape as well as being a wonderful opportunity for individuals to learn about our local hedgerows and enjoy being involved in helping to improve the countryside.”

“Starting the project this year along the 160km (100 miles) of the Jubilee Trail is also an appropriate way of recognising the important contribution to tree planting made by Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth ll and in particular The Queen’s Green Canopy”.

The project also links in with other hedgerow projects such as the Council for the Preservation of Rural England’s ‘Hedgerow Heroes’ and The Peoples Trust for Endangered Species ‘Healthy Hedgerows’ campaigns.

To find out more about how to assess hedgerows, the mapping system and more information on what makes a healthy hedge go to our website www.DorsetCAN.org/hedge. Or to join the project or contact us go to greatbigdorsethedge@gmail.com.