Instant support for family’s hedge-planting plans down on their ‘forever home’

CLIMATE-AWARE parents Paul and Clare Tallentire are planting hedgerows on their land at Bishopton Village near Darlington this month as an environmental legacy for their children.

The couple, who have recently moved to their ‘forever home’ at Woogra House, on Woogra Farm in Bishopton, with their three boys, Harry and Sam, 13, and Quinn, eight, have been backed in their efforts by Darlington Forest Project, The Darlington Lions club and CPRE Durham.

The Lions have given £1,000 to fund the planting, Darlington Forest Project will help carry it out and CPRE, the countryside charity spearheading a national campaign to restore hedges across England, has welcomed it as a great example of ‘citizen action’.

Paul, an internet security specialist, said: “We love the countryside and we want to give something back to it.

“The younger generation seems even more concerned about the climate crisis than we are and I was surprised by how much my lads already knew about carbonisation and the environment.

“So, Clare and I just thought it would be a great project for them to see hedgerows replanted – it is something they can watch grow over the years.

“They love the idea and are looking forward to helping create a thriving piece of nature they can watch grow over the years, benefiting the environment and supporting insects, birds and animals.

“We’re extremely grateful for the funding we’ve received from the Lions and to the Forest Project in helping us with this.”

Roz Henderson, who heads up the Darlington Forest Project, which aims to increase tree cover across the borough of Darlington and has planted more than 10,000 trees so far, said: “It was a case of several things coming together at once: we received an enquiry from Paul and Clare, and at the same time were contacted by the Lions looking for an environmental project they might sponsor.

“We’re delighted to be able to provide support to landowners in creating a more climate- and wildlife-friendly area.  

“We would encourage any landowners who feel they could benefit from creating woodland or hedgerow to get in touch, when we can help find funding and bring along volunteers to help with the planting.”

Money was raised at the Blackwellgate shop of  Darlington Lions, and Lions’ president Neil Anderson said: “There was a unanimous feeling among the Lions that with COP26 having made such an impact, we should look to support an environmental project locally and we loved the idea of this one at Bishopton.

“As well as being something very traditional, in the shape of hedgerows, we really liked the family element to the project and we hope it inspires others to start planting.

”Money raised from our bookshop in Blackwellgate in Darlington enabled us to do this and the more people who visit the bookshop, the more we’ll be  able to support projects like this.”

The move has been welcomed by CPRE, the countryside charity, (formerly the Campaign to Protect Rural England), which is spearheading a drive to increase the number of hedgerows across England by 40 per cent by 2050.

Richard Cowen, chair of CPRE Durham, said: “Hedgerows are not only wonderful for biodiversity, they also absorb carbon emissions, reduce air pollution and help prevent flooding.

“Seeing what Paul and Clare plan to do is a great example of citizen action where private individuals look to reintroduce hedgerows on their land, rather than rely on government action and, hopefully, more people across Durham, Darlington and the North East will follow their example.

“With six species, the new hedgerow at Bishopton will, after 30 years, be an “important” hedgerow under the Hedgerow Regulations.” 

The hedges will be made of common hawthorn, blackthorn, hazel, buckthorn, dog rose and holly, interspersed with oak tree saplings, and are due to be planted in February.