The Organic Research Centre (ORC) is taking part in the Big Give Green Match Fund 2023 to raise £20,000 in just 1 week! These funds will go towards ORC’s ‘The Importance of Hedgerows’ appeal.
Our landscape was once dominated by woodland and hedgerows, but decades of intensive farming and urban development have decimated the countryside. Ancient woodland now covers just 2.5% of the UK’s land area and we have lost 50% of our hedgerows since 1945, and they are still in decline. As a result, animals that once flourished in these habitats are also significantly diminished.
• Up to 75% of all of Britain's rural hedgehogs have been lost in the past 20 years.
• Dormouse numbers have declined by up to 80% between 1994 and 2018.
• There has been a 41% decline in the woodland butterfly index for the UK between 1990 and 2019.
It is not too late to reverse this devastation, but we need to act now. That is why ORC is launching it’s ‘The Importance of Hedgerows Appeal.’
Healthy hedgerows are teeming with life and vital for nature. There is much anecdotal evidence that they foster the biodiversity of connected woodlands by enabling species to move from one area to another. With funding from ‘The Importance of Hedgerows’ appeal, ORC will conduct a research project that will provide the scientific evidence to validate this belief.
Once completed the project will add further weight to the argument for expanding the hedgerow network across the UK. Such an expansion would play a vital role in reversing the decline of our indigenous wildlife.
How can you get involved?
Click on this link and make a donation from 12pm (midday) on Thursday, 20th April. The campaign will close at 12pm on Thursday, 27th April.