A GENEROUS legacy has helped the National Trust to plant 5,000 trees as part of two new hedgerows on the Golden Cap Estate on Dorset’s Jurassic coast near Morcomeblake.

Once established, the new hedges will become crucial wildlife corridors, absorb carbon, create shelter and provide a food source for a wide variety of birds, mammals and insects.

One of the hedgerows was funded with a generous legacy donation to the National Trust in memory of someone who loved this part of Dorset. The Trust is grateful for legacies or commemorative gifts which help the conservation charity to look after places in its care. It’s a great way to remember or celebrate a loved one.

Funding for the remaining section of hedgerow was secured from the Farming in Protected Landscapes (FiPL) project which has supported the National Trust with funding to plant more than 1.3km of hedges over the last two winters 2022/23 and 2023/24.

Claire Sissons, countryside ranger and project manager, says: “We planted a mixture of hawthorn, crab-apple, dog rose, field maple, dog wood and hazel. Together these trees will make the most incredible hedge which will provide food, protection and homes to the wildlife which live here.”

She thanked the volunteers involved in the project, including the Great Big Dorset Hedge Project, Dorset Countryside Volunteers, National Trust volunteers, FiPL and anyone who just turned up on the day of planting and started to help: “It was hard work planting all these trees at this time of year and we couldn’t have done it without volunteer help.”

If you are interested in donating to support projects in Dorset, you can contact the National Trust on: westdorset@nullnationaltrust.org.uk

Pictured: A rainbow over some of the newly planted trees. Photograph by Claire Sissons.