Longlisted for the James Cropper Wainwright Prize 2024 for Nature Writing
"Delightful . . . Hedgelands is a merry exposition on the history and biology of these unique ecosystems, and a very good argument as to why we should re-engage with the hedge."-The Wall Street Journal
"Hart's passion for the potential that resides here is intoxicating. Occasionally an environmental solution comes along that is so breathtakingly simple you can't believe that not everyone is already doing it."-Sunday Times
"[A] joyously readable book- it riffs along like breeze in the hedgerow."-John Lewis-Stempel in Country Life
On this joyous journey around the wild edges of Britain, celebrated author Christopher Hart takes us through the life, ecology and history of the humble countryside hedge and how it is inextricably woven into our language, landscape and culture.
Hedges – or hedgerows – have long been an integral part of the British landscape. An ancient, human-made boundary, hedgerows have become a critically important haven for wildlife and are now being recognised as one of the greatest 'edge' habitats on Earth.
Britain boasts 400,000 kilometres of hedgerows, but has lost 50 per cent of them since the Second World War and their slow deterioration today is becoming a huge threat to the ecosystem.
In Hedgelands, Christopher Hart shares the history of the hedge, highlighting the hawthorn and hazel of ancient hedgerows, and reveals its abundance of wildlife, from the elusive dunnock to the iconic nightingale, the industrious hedgehog to the miniscule harvest mouse.
He demonstrates how this true environmental hero and powerful climate ally can help rebuild species-rich, resilient havens for birds, mammals and insects. Hedges play a vital role in mature woodland, grassland and even wetland, all of which can offer us much-needed ecological diversity and carbon sequestration.
Through rewilding a patch of land in southwest England, Christopher shows us how easy, joyful and rewarding it is to restore even the smallest stretch of hedge. Whether you live in the country or the city, Hedgelands shares how simple actions can make a huge difference to the future of our precious hedges – and environment.
"What's good for us is good for nature, and what's good for nature is good for us. And nowhere is this more true than in the bustling, flourishing, flowering, fruiting and altogether glorious native British hedge."-Christopher Hart "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
"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 store
