Hedgehog Awareness Week runs from 3rd – 9th May 2020 and hedgehoggy events are being organised all around the country!
Hedgehog Awareness Week is organised by the British Hedgehog Preservation Society (BHPS) and takes place every year. It aims to highlight the problems hedgehogs face and how you can help them. This year the Charity is asking people to talk to their neighbours! Try to make the whole street hedgehog friendly by talking to at least 5 other people in your area, ask them to join up habitat with CD Case sized Hedgehog Highways in the bottom of fences and walls.
There are many simple things we can all do to help hedgehogs:
- Create a log pile that will offer shelter and food
- Build a Hedgehog Home (see plans at https://www.britishhedgehogs.org.uk/hedgehog-homes/)
- Move piles of rubbish to a new site before burning it.
- Check areas carefully before mowing or strimming.
- Ensure netting is kept at a safe height.
- Check compost heaps before digging the fork in.
- Stop or reduce the amount of pesticides and poisons used.
- Cover drains or deep holes.
- Ensure there is an easy route out of ponds & pools.
BHPS Chief Executive, Fay Vass, said
“Our gardens take up such a lot of habitat, and by getting together with neighbours to ensure hedgehogs have access points and hedgehog friendly features in the garden, we can open up a really useful amount of habitat for them. You could become a Hedgehog Champion for your area at Hedgehog Street – a project run by BHPS and our partners People’s Trust for Endangered Species. Join 70,000 Champions by signing up at www.hedgehogstreet.org – there’s even a Hedgehog Street app you can download from The App Store or Google Play!”
