This winter Wokingham borough council’s Countryside Service Rangers has been teaching volunteers and students how to carry out traditional South of England style hedge laying at Hazebrouck Meadows in Arborfield.
The group learned how to use hand tools such as billhooks, coppiced stakes and willow binders to reshape an overgrown line of trees into a strong well‑structured hedgerow that will support wildlife and encourage healthy new growth.
A total of 17 volunteers took part, along with students on work experience from St Crispin’s School and a placement student from Berkshire College of Agriculture.
The training helps build practical countryside management skills and supports long term care of the borough’s green spaces.
Work will now pause for bird nesting season and will continue in November when the trees are dormant.
