The Conversation reports National Hedgerow Week was created to highlight the immense contribution hedgerows make in the fight against climate change, biodiversity loss and urban air pollution.

With 50% of hedges lost since the second world war due to building development and large scale farming, there has never been a more important time for people to start planting and protecting these high-functioning mini nature reserves in our towns and countryside.

The Climate Change Committee government advisory body says the UK needs to plant 200,000km of new hedgerows if it is to meet its 2050 net zero target.

Healthy hedgerows are essential habitats for biodiversity, supporting over 2,000 species, including the hedgehog and several European protected animals, notably the dormouse, great-crested newt and most species of bat.