A huge hedgerow connecting the South Downs National Park and the New Forest National Park is inching closer to completion.

More than 13,724m of new hedgerow has now been planted in Hampshire, edging closer to the target of 15,000m.

CPRE Hampshire marked the near completion of its flagship project The Hampshire Hedge with a dedicated Hedgefest event hosted on the Broadlands Estate, near Romsey.

The event brought together landowners, funders, partners and community collaborators for a day of demonstrations, activities and a showcase of traditional hedge laying skills.

The project aims to create a continuous wildlife corridor linking the South Downs and the New Forest National Parks, strengthening nature recovery across the county.

Contributions have come from the South Downs National Park Trust with more than 20,000 hedgerow trees given to the project over the last two years,  alongside bio spirals, canes and mulch estimated at a value of over £35K.

To date 68,620 whips have been planted by a dedicated team of volunteers who have contributed over 13,678 volunteer hours to the project. The final target is 75,000.

Over 2,700 young people and 35 schools across Hampshire have helped with the project.

Ellie Banks, CPRE’s Hampshire Hedgerow Project Officer, said: “Hedgerows are powerful connectors in our landscape. Wildlife increasingly exists in isolated pockets, and hedgerows play a crucial role in linking these habitats. It has been inspiring to see so many people – from volunteers to farmers to community groups – come together to support this project. We simply couldn’t have achieved this without them.

Elaina Whittaker-Slark, Lead Ranger for the Western Team at the National Park Authority, said: “The South Downs and New Forest are two incredibly important hubs for biodiversity restoration in the south of England and to have them joined up with a wildlife corridor is so exciting.

“This hedgerow will provide much-needed havens for all kinds of birds, insects and mammals.”