A project is underway in southern England’s Dorsetshire to create a hedge more than 100 miles long, following the path of the Jubilee Trail, which was established in 1995.
The Great Big Dorset Hedge Project is planning to join up and revitalize the hedgerows along the trail, eventually ending up with a hedgerow significantly longer than Hadrian’s Wall in the north. Unlike the wall, meant to keep out intruders, the hedge is meant to be friendly to visitors and to the environment.
Led by the Dorset Climate Action Network, volunteers are setting out to do the work in stages, and say it may take a generation to complete. In the first stages, volunteers walk sections of the trail, noting where there are gaps, condition of the plantings, and what species are there. Ten different species will be part of the hedge, including honeysuckle, elm, hawthorn, dogwood and blackthorn.
Later stages include mapping the survey results, assessing the date, and securing funding and working with local farmers, who could be paid as guardians of the hedgerows and land.
The plan is also expected to be a boon for wildlife by creating safe havens for insects, mammals and reptiles to travel between habitats out of view of predators.
‘Great’ clearly only in the sense of size …
Indeed. I think this says it well, from the linked BBC article: “Today, the fact that the hedge remains largely unknown is seen . . . as another example (of) the uncritical teaching of British Imperialism, which they argue often downplays the pain and suffering of colonialism and the human cost of these endeavors.
If a 100 mile hedge is called “Great Big” what would you call an 2500 mile hedge? The Great Hedge of India. In the annals of British hedge-growing I imagine it’s the greatest.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inland_Customs_LineYou can read about it, as I did, in Roy Moxham’s book:https://www.bbc.com/future/art…nished-without-trace