Cornwall Wildlife Trust has launched a Cornish Hedges Appeal aiming to raise £20,000 to protect the county’s iconic hedges.

An estimated 30,000 miles of hedges criss-cross Cornwall, but Cornish Hedges are not protected by the national Hedgerow Regulations (1997) and are threatened by removal and neglect. 

Nearly 200 flowering plant species have been counted in just one mile of an ordinary roadside hedge. An estimated 10,000 species of insects can be supported by the floral and habitat diversity in Cornwall’s hedges. This in turn attracts mammals such as dormice and hedgehogs, birds like the song thrush, and reptiles to forage and to hide their homes and nests in the greenery and in stony crevices.

Supporter Ruediger Wohlers said: ‘Cornwall’s hedgerows are part of Cornwall’s character and charm and attract people from all over the world. We must keep these hedgerows thriving.’