CPRE’s hedgerow petition handed in to Defra

Staff and volunteers from national CPRE and local groups have handed in our hedgerow petition to Edward Barker, Defra’s Director of Natural Environment, Trees and Landscapes.

The petition, carrying the voices of almost 50,000 supporters, calls for the government to set a target to increase our hedgerow network by 40% by 2050, as recommended by the Climate Change Committee (CCC). The hand-in marks a key milestone for our #40by50 hedgerow campaign.

Hedgerows are life-giving wildlife corridors which connect habitats across the countryside, and are one of our best natural defenses against climate change. But, mismanagement, development and intensive agriculture have meant that we’ve lost around 50% of them since the Second World War.

We want to see more, bigger and thicker hedgerows restored across the country. Our petition calls for around 120,000 miles of new hedgerow to be planted by 2050, so that we can boost wildlife habitats and improve our resilience to climate change.

Our hedgerow campaign has garnered the support of thousands of people across the country, and we’d like to thank our supporters for getting involved, from the petition signers, to our Hedgerow Hero MPs, to the local CPRE groups who have been campaigning and restoring hedgerows in their area.