A hedgerows project to engage schools, community groups and residents in Lyme Regis has been launched.
It is run by environmental education firm Little Green Change and Dorset Climate Action Network (Dorset CAN).
The project is part of Dorset CAN's Great Big Dorset Hedge and funded by Lyme Regis Town Council.
It will involve community hedgerow surveying sessions this spring, with additional resources being made available to St Michael’s CE VA Primary School, The Woodroffe School, and the Lyme Regis Scouts group.
Clare Matheson, founder and director of Little Green Change, spoke about the project’s educational benefits and community involvement.
She said: "We are proud to be working in partnership with Dorset Climate Action Network (Dorset CAN) and Lyme Regis Town Council on this important project... It also provides opportunities for interested children, students and adults to gain new surveying skills, and to meet new people through volunteering."
Julie Leah, a local gardener and one of the co-founders of Dorset CAN's Great Big Dorset Hedge project, highlighted the potential for replication in other communities.
She said: "Born from the many successes of the county wide Great Big Dorset Hedge Project (GBDH), this initiative brings all of the benefits of the GBDH project to Lyme Regis and its community... Dorset CAN hopes to use this project as a prototype to be rolled out to further communities and schools across Dorset in time."
A recent State of Nature Report revealed a continuous decline in UK wildlife, with one in six species at risk of extinction.
Despite the loss of over 109,000km of hedgerows in England since 1984, they continue to serve an important function in urban and rural settings.
It provides nesting habitats, food sources and travel routes for a variety of small mammals, birds and insects.
The project also seeks to ascertain whether national wildlife decline statistics are reflected in the West Dorset landscape and hopes to find new funding opportunities to restore and plant more hedges.
Community hedge surveying sessions are planned with the dates being May 4 from 11am, May 14 at 1.30pm, and May 29 at 10am.
The events are open to individuals with no prior surveying experience who can sign up via the Little Green Change website.
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