Take the Hedgehog Pledge for Hedgehog Awareness Week in Nottinghamshire
Hedgehog Awareness Week takes place next month and people across Nottinghamshire are being urged to get involved by taking ‘The Hedgehog Pledge’.
The annual campaign, run by The British Hedgehog Preservation Society (BHPS) runs from May 3-9 and is all about helping preserve these popular little creatures who play an important role in British wildlife.
Fay Vass, BHPS chief executive, said: “As well as hailing all things hedgehog, Hedgehog Awareness Week highlights the problems hedgehogs face in the UK.
“So we’ve created The Hedgehog Pledge with seven practical options to inspire everyone to act with hedgehogs in mind.
“Sign up & take the pledge – pick just one or challenge yourself to do one each day during #HedgehogWeek!”
There are several things people can pledge to do:
Add more Hedgehog Highways - creating 13cm x 13cm square gaps in boundary walls and fences (talk to your neighbours first though!) can ensure hedgehogs can access to vital habitat. Once made, log them at bighedgehogmap.org
Create, improve or protect a wild space - log piles, leaf heaps and wild edges attract natural food and offer shelter for hedgehogs.
Always check for hedgehogs before strimming, mowing or hedge cutting - many hedgehogs are harmed or killed by garden machinery every year so simple checks before you start can save lives.
Go totally organic in the garden or allotment - pesticides and chemicals can harm wildlife and destroy the food chain so embrace the wild instead!
Be net savvy - netting can become tangled in hedgehog spines so make sure sports nets are put away and garden netting is raised 30cm off the ground so hedgehogs can safely pass underneath.
Provide water for wildlife all year round - make it part of your routine to check, clean & refill water sources for hedgehogs in your garden or outside your workplace. and add a few pebbles so bees and butterflies can perch and safely drink too.
Become an NHMP volunteer spotter - in partnership with People's Trust for Endangered Species, BHPS leads the National Hedgehog Monitoring Programme, surveying hedgehogs across the UK Help classify images taken on specialist trail cameras from the comfort of home, Visit nhmp.co.uk to become a ‘spotter’.
Find out more & log your pledge at britishhedgehogs.org.uk/hedgehogpledge
Fay added: “Hedgehogs are an important indicator species – they don’t need an awful lot to survive, so if they aren’t coping well, it means the habitat is deficient and that should ring alarm bells for other species, including humans.
“Taking the Hedgehog Pledge for Hedgehog Awareness Week and beyond can really make a difference.
“We’ve had more than a hundred people pledging already and can’t wait to see how many more are ready to take the pledge!”
On top of the pledge, you can download and share the official Hedgehog Awareness Week poster at britishhedgehogs.org.uk/poster-links/ or donate at justgiving.com/campaign/haw26