Hedgelands: A wild wander around Britain’s greatest habitat

‘A glorious anthem to the hedge! The sleeping giant that is waiting to be nurtured back to life-giving health. This wonderful book fires the imagination and will change the way you look at a hedge forever. And never was there a more urgent time to restore our degraded hedges into the lifelines they should be – for our beleaguered wildlife and for ourselves. Endlessly fascinating and teeming with ‘Wow!’s. A must read for anyone who wants to help restore ecological health to our countryside.’ Keggie Carew, author of Beastly ‘A hugely enjoyable ramble down the tangled green lanes of the beleaguered British countryside. Christopher Hart’s investigations shine a new light on the humble hedgerow, in which all manner of solutions to our environmental problems can be found.’ Lee Schofield, author of Wild Fell ‘This is a soaring love song to the hedge – not the straight-shorn sanitised garden hedges but the ancient hedgerows that heave with life. Hart is an enthusiastic guide to these beautiful, underestimated ecological niches, which not only provide habitats for birds, invertebrates and plants but are also carbon banks and food stores, and even supply ingredients for cocktails.’  Andrea Wulf, author of Magnificent Rebels ‘We now know that if laid end to end, English hedges would stretch ten times around the earth. In Hedgelands, Christopher Hart has put his arms around the whole extraordinary network. He inspires us to see that the hedgerow is a national treasure even more important than we realised.’  Mark Cocker, author and naturalist  ‘Hedgelands is brilliant – fascinating, inspiring, important and extremely timely. It has taken my love and appreciation of our precious hedges to another level. Please buy it, read it and share it with everyone you know who has enough space to plant a hedge!’ Brigit Strawbridge Howard, author of Dancing with Bees ‘A wonderful history of the threads that stitch the British countryside together, Hedgelands provides a detailed description of the wonder of hedges and the vast array of species and benefits they provide for us.’ Jake Fiennes, author of Land Healer ‘A lovely book on a really important subject. Passionate, personal and important. You won’t ever look at a hedgerow in the same way again.’ Roger Morgan-Grenville, author of The Return of the Grey Partridge ‘This deeply enjoyable book makes me want to go live in a mighty conservation hedge – or at least create one. Hart has delved deep into fascinating hedge etymology and history, and brings the joy of restoring a hedge to life. As an insect lover, I welcomed the stories of renewal, and abundance of insects and other wildlife. May many more hedges be created.’ Vicki Hird, author of Rebugging the Planet ‘A passionate celebration and exploration of our wonderful hedgerows. You’ll be swept along by Hart’s intoxicating enthusiasm.’ Dave Goulson, author of Silent Earth ‘At the Soil Association, we have long advocated for the reinstatement and proper care of that multifaceted boon to nature and farming, the hedgerow. With Christopher Hart’s wonderful Hedgelands by your side, any farmer, conservationist or interested layperson will understand so much more about this extraordinary resource, and how to appreciate and care for it.’ Helen Browning, chief executive, Soil Association ‘Hedgerows are linear forests. Christopher Hart shows us these jewels in the heart of the English countryside and how biodiversity makes them hum with a richness the planet needs. If we pay attention, the nightingales will sing for us, again and again.’ Diana Beresford-Kroeger, author of To Speak for the Trees ‘Hedgelands is a marvellous walk through a traditional European agroforestry system, complete with information on benefits to biodiversity, wild foods, carbon, climate resilience and more. Highly recommended.’ Eric Toensmeier, author of The Carbon Farming Solution ‘We all love hedgerows, and we’re all appalled that so many have been destroyed over the last century. But Hedgelands highlights another threat to these valuable linear oases – many of them are very poorly managed. For though they resemble a woodland edge, these are not natural habitats: they are man-made and have to be managed sensitively if they are to provide a good home for our birds and bees, hedgehogs and weeds. In this fascinating and insightful book, Christopher Hart brings to life the rich natural and cultural history of the hedge and makes a compelling case that they may indeed, as he says, be "Britain’s greatest habitat".' Dr Charlie Gardner, Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology