New home for dormice

THIS week, more than a mile of hedgerow is being planted on the Faccombe estate, near Andover, Hampshire, to support dormice and other wildlife. ‘Hedgerows are hugely valuable to wildlife, including hazel dormice, which live in them and use them as dispersal routes,’ explains Ian White of the People’s Trust for Endangered Species. The initiative is part of the Test Valley Dormouse Project, which looks for dormice in hedgerows and woods and encourages farmers to plant hedgerows. Next year, another 0.6 miles will be planted on the nearby Ibthorpe Farm. ‘Some [hedgerows] are thought to be many thousands of years old,’ says Mr White. ‘It would be wonderful to think that the ones we plant this year could still be standing centuries from now.’