Countryside Day

CPRE Hampshire Celebrates Beauty of the Countryside with New Awareness Day

Local charity, CPRE Hampshire is set to host its first ‘Countryside Day’ on Saturday 7th September 2024.

CPRE Hampshire is inviting people to join them to celebrate the beauty of the Hampshire countryside with a brand new awareness day that highlights the importance of a thriving countryside, for both people and planet.

The leading conservation charity also hopes to raise awareness of the importance of hedgerow management and strengthen the connection people have with the Hampshire countryside.

On Saturday 7^th September, CPRE Hampshire will host four free events including;

• Foraging walk, led by Jen Williams at Cox Croft Farm, to learn about nature’s late summer bounty in Hampshire’s beautiful countryside
• Textile Hedge workshop, led by Caroline Bell, so that people can learn the art of natural dying and leaf printing

The workshops, set to take place in the coming month, will provide participants with the opportunity to immerse themselves in the beauty of Hampshire’s hedgerows, learn about their importance in the local ecosystem, and discover ways to actively contribute to their preservation.

Alison Talbot, Operations Manager at CPRE Hampshire said: ‘Hampshire is the only county in England with two National Parks as well as three Areas of Outstanding National Beauty, and that’s something we really want to celebrate. Thanks to generous donations and support, we’re incredibly proud of the work our volunteers, partner organisations, trustees and staff do to protect these unique landscapes, so that they can be enjoyed by everyone. This awareness day is an opportunity for everyone to come together and celebrate everything that makes the Hampshire countryside special.”

In particular, the charity hopes people will be inspired by the Hampshire Hedge, which is an ambitious initiative to connect the two National Parks in Hampshire, the South Downs National Park and the New Forest National Park, with a nature recovery corridor of hedgerow. It will wind its way through the central heart of Hampshire parishes and link woodlands, meadows, local nature reserves and Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs).

It’s the first year that CPRE’s network of local organisations will run Countryside Day events up and down the country. It follows the success of CPRE Sussex’s Countryside Day, which has proved popular with visitors over the last two years.

Visit our events page to learn more about CPRE Hampshire’s Countryside Day