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The Real Hedge Fund

Due to Storm Arwen and her following storms we have included trees as well as hedgerows.

The Real Hedge Fund
Trees and Hedgerows

Donate now and double your donation

DONATE NOW

After losing 10,000's of trees and miles of hedges we need your help

Help create and restore Cumbria’s hedgerows and trees

THE REAL HEDGE FUND

Raised: $1,191Goal: $4,000
29%

What’s so great about hedges?

Hedges connect habits, improve biodiversity, store carbon, help prevent flooding and many other wonderful things.

They are loved by the dormouse, barn owls, bats and several species of birds.

We are working with partners, farmers and landowners to raise funds to create and restore more of these lovely features across the Cumbrian landscape.

Why do hedgerows need your help?

Each year nearly 6,000 miles of old hedges were completely uprooted while less than 1,200 miles of new ones planted

With this loss of habitat we will lose mammals, birds, and insect species. Hedges also act as wildlife corridors allowing dispersal between isolated habitats.

Without hedgerows we lose the ability to prevent soil erosion. They create a natural barrier that prevents water run-off from fields, so the ground is less likely to dry out.

Got a Hedge Project you'd like help with?

If you are planning to make a hedge why not apply to see if you qualify for a grant

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Reclaim Gift Aid

Gift Aid It!Add 25% more to your donation at no cost to you. A Gift Aid declaration allows Lake District Foundation to claim tax back on eligible donations. It means that for every £1 you donate to Lake District Foundation we can claim back 25p, at no extra cost to you.

By ticking the "Yes" box, I agree I would like Lake District Foundation to reclaim the tax on all qualifying donations I have made, as well as any future donations, until I notify them otherwise. I understand that if I pay less Income Tax and/or Capital Gains Tax than the amount of Gift Aid claimed on all my donations in that tax year I may be asked to pay any difference. I understand that Lake District Foundation will reclaim 25p of tax on every £1 that I give.

What is Gift Aid?

Gift Aid does not cost you a penny more, but can add an additional 25p to every £1 you donate. When Lake District Foundation receives a donation from a UK taxpayer, we're entitled to claim an amount of tax (calculated at the basic rate of income tax in that year) paid on that donation. Once you have given your permission for us to do this on your behalf, there is no need for you to do anything else.

All that is required is that you must be a taxpayer and that would have paid or will pay sufficient Income and/or Capital Gains Tax to cover all the Gift Aid claimed on all your donations in that tax year. Please note that it is your responsibility to pay any difference.

The amount of tax we claim will be 25% of the total value of your donations in that tax year. Furthermore, if you are a higher taxpayer, you are also entitled to claim the difference between the basic rate which we will claim and the amount of tax you have actually paid. For further details on how you can do this, please contact your tax office. If your tax situation changes and your gifts will no longer be eligible for the Gift Aid scheme please contact us and we will amend your record accordingly.

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Donation Total: £25.00 One Time

Where does your money go?

It costs around £25 to plant and protect each new metre of hedgerow. Using saplings and fencing.

We have set an initial target of £100,000 which will help plant or restore 4kms of hedgerow in the Lake District and Cumbria.

It’s a great start – but we have plans to do the same in other areas.

One project we are working with is in the Ullswater Valley with Danny Teasdale of Ullswater CIC he is speaking above on why hedges matter.

Sadly over the last 70 years our hedgerows have become significantly reduced both in the length and in quality. Now seems a really excellent opportunity to engage and support farmers, landowners and communities to reinstate and improve their hedgerows.

We are working with our partners The Federation for Common Land, Ullswater CIC , Food, Farming and Countryside Commission and The Lake District National Park.

We want to showcase good practice would enable and encourage others to participate snowballing the length and quality of hedgerows throughout Cumbria.

The funding will be distributed in the form of grants that will help us monitor:

  • Long term maintenance and care
  • Impact of the planting
  • Improving and creating high quality hedgerow and woodland habitat in Cumbria
  • Increasing awareness and understanding about the importance of hedgerows in the landscape
  • Increasing awareness and understanding about the importance of woodlands in the landscape
  • Our hedges and trees are good Value for Money – ensuring this money raised compliments any other sources of funding that farmers and landowners can access.

Round 1 Grants – Awarded April 2021:

Four projects were selected in the first round of funding, a brief summary of each can be found below:

  • Holghyll Wood to Lacet Hay Meadow, Hutton Head Farm, Penrith. A new 84metre ‘corridor’ hedge will be created to join a 20 acre semi-natural ancient woodland (The Holghyll Wood) with a 9 acre hay meadow (Lacet Hill). The new hedge will link key habitats together creating an important wildlife corridor.
  • Holme House Farm, Skelsmergh
    A new hedge will be created around the south and east boundaries of Holme House Farm and will extend the native woodland by 3000 sq m. Holme House Farm are a co-housing group building 5 eco-homes and living communally on a currently derelict farm with 12 acres of land in the River Sprint valley. The group seek to live together in ways that minimise the environmental impact and restore and enhance the wildlife and habitats of the woodland, river and meadows on our land.
  • Low Park Hedge, Tebay
    To restore an ancient hedge and fence both sides to protect it. Currently, the hedge is very overgrown but is used by red squirrels. It is a vital link between ancient woodland and a newly established wildlife area. Low Borrowbridge Farm is trying to make a 3.5-mile nature recovery network for the squirrels, working with Penrith Red Squirrels.
  • Barn at Thwaite Head, Ulverston
    A restoration project of an old barn and traditional orchard, using regenerative and holistic management principles. The installation of the new hedgerow will create additional biodiversity and benefit future orchard tree plantings and meadow grasses by creating a biodiverse area which can be resilient to pests, and benefit local wildlife and thrive.

Round 2 grants awarded to 10 projects totalling over £8,000 at:

  • Greystoke Gill, Penrith 
  • Partfield Park Ltd, Drigg, Holmrook 
  • Greenwood House, Kirkland, Wigton 
  • Thwaite Moss, Rusland, Ulverston 
  • Braithwaite Institute car park and the associated football and cricket pitches 
  • Lamb Beck Ing, Skelton, Penrith 
  • Arnside village recycling area 
  • Keswick Community Housing Trust  
  • Studholme, Kirkbride, Wigton 
  • Matterdale Wildlife Corridor 

Further information about how to apply and the criteria will be available on the charities grant funding section of their website, lakedistrictfoundation.org/apply-for-a-grant/.

Get Invoved

  • Local links – We care about hedgerows in the Lake District and Cumbria – but also about hedges in your community? Do you have good examples please send images or links to great community projects.
  • Get in touch with your pictures and stories of hedges that you see out and about?
  • Is there a hedge near you to have a look at? They are so much more than boundaries.
  • We are working on a downloadable worksheet, one for each season, that helps understand what is in your hedge please come back soon also sign up for our newsletter to keep up to date.
  • Come and visit them – opportunities may be available soon to join hedge planting sessions.
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