This past weekend, Protect Earth welcomed the community to Goytre Wood for a free one-day hedge-laying course. If you’ve ever wondered how to lay a hedge, a course like this is the perfect opportunity to learn and practice new skills. Led by local green man John, participants gained practical knowledge in this traditional countryside skill. Hedge laying not only restores boundaries but also supports biodiversity, provides shelter for wildlife, and strengthens natural landscapes.
Practical Skills for a Greener Future
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John helping Karen to lay the hedge with Steve and Amelia working on their own hedges in the background. [/caption]
John guided attendees through natural hedge creation, demonstrating how a handful of simple tools can transform overgrown or sparse hedges into thriving, dense barriers. For those curious about how to lay a hedge on their own land, the course covered essential techniques and the ecological benefits. Natural hedges can mark boundaries, contain livestock, and serve as effective windbreaks while enhancing local ecosystems. Attendees left equipped with the knowledge to apply these skills to their properties, creating greener and healthier landscapes.
This course was particularly relevant for small landowners and farmers seeking practical, environmentally friendly, and cost-effective solutions for land management.
A Community Collaboration
The idea for the course emerged from a friendly collaboration. Protect Earth’s neighbour at Goytre Wood had approached the charity with a request to lower the willow hedge bordering their property. Seeing an opportunity to share valuable skills with the community, Protect Earth proposed a hedge-laying course. The result? A lowered hedge that will grow back horizontally denser and healthier, providing a stronger boundary and greater habitat for local wildlife.
Learning in Action
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Course participants, Jason and Karen, putting to use the skills they were taught. [/caption]
The course attracted diverse participants, each with their own motivations. Jason, a lorry driver, attended to try his hand at a new skill. Amelia, a woodland owner, saw the course as a natural next step in her sustainability journey. After recently completing a natural carpentry course at the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT), she was eager to explore additional techniques for restoring her 40-acre woodland, which she plans to open to visitors in the future.
More Opportunities to Get Involved
Protect Earth is committed to empowering communities through practical, hands-on learning. If you want to learn how to lay a hedge, more hedge-laying courses will be run and will remain open to anyone interested in gaining green skills. Whether you’re a farmer looking to create wildlife corridors, a landowner restoring native habitats, or simply someone passionate about sustainability, these courses provide the perfect opportunity to gain practical experience in land management.
Sign up to Protect Earth’s Eventbrite page to be notified of future courses. If there is a group of people in your area keen to develop land management skills, contact us to discuss how we can work together to deliver the skills and knowledge needed to support biodiversity.
