The British Hedgehog Preservation Society (BHPS) has announced that Hedgehog Awareness Week 2024 is happening 5th – 11th May. The annual event highlights the problems hedgehogs face and how you can help them. As a Hedgehog Champion (for Hedgehog Street, a project run by BHPS and People’s Trust for Endangered Species) my family and I went door to door today, raising awareness.
Wildlife-friendly features can be added (and hazards can be avoided) to make an area more welcoming to hedgehogs:
-Hedgehog highways allow vital access to more habitat; These 13cm x 13cm square gaps in the bottom of boundary walls and fences ensure hedgehogs can get in and out easily – and once these Hedgehog Highways are made you can log them at www.bighedgehogmap.org.
-Log piles, leaf piles, wild corners and edges will attract natural food and offer shelter for hedgehogs.
-Water is vital for all wildlife and can be scarce, especially during hot spells. Make sure there are always several clean shallow bowls of water in the garden for hedgehogs – pop a few pebbles in so that bees and butterflies can safely take a drink too.
-Ponds or pools are great for wildlife but do ensure there are escape routes – a sloping edge, ramp or half-submerged rock for hedgehogs to scramble out on.
-Stop using poisons and pesticides that could directly harm wildlife and destroy the food chain.
-Litter is a problem for wildlife and while this is (hopefully) not an issue in your own garden, it very likely is in the wider environment.
-Netting can become entangled in hedgehog spines: make sure sports nets are put away and garden netting is raised 30cm off the ground so hedgehogs can safely pass under. Always carefully check for wildlife before mowing, strimming or lighting a bonfire pile.
...Pass it on!
#HedgehogWeek #BHPS #PTES #Hedgehog #BritishHedgehogs
Director of Sustainability, ESG & Sustainable Finance
1yGreat to see a biodiversity living lab !