LOOK out for hedgehogs is the message of a returning awareness campaign aimed at protecting the iconic British animal.
Organisers have announced the return of Hedgehog Awareness Week (May 4 to 10).
The annual campaign, ran by The British Hedgehog Preservation Society (BHPS), highlights the problems hedgehogs face and how to help them.
This year the charity is asking people to ‘give hedgehogs the edge’ by making the edges of their gardens and green spaces havens for wildlife, and encouraging landowners such as schools and councils to do the same.
Hedgehogs are a great indicator species meaning their needs are quite simple and habitat deficiencies can ring alarm bells for other species including humans.
The BHPS is encouraging people to try the following tips. Log piles, leaf heaps, and wild edges attract natural food and offer shelter for hedgehogs in gardens. Always carefully check for wildlife before mowing, strimming or tidying wild areas.
Make ponds safe by adding sloping edges, ramps or half-submerged rocks so hedgehogs can scramble out. Although litter is unlikely to be an in issue in your garden, it can be in the wider environment. Contact landowners where litter is a problem.
Hedgehog highways are also encouraged, these are 13cm by 13 cm square gaps in the base of boundary walls or fences to allow access for the animals.
Leaving bowls of water out for hedgehogs is also encouraged in summer, as is avoiding the use of poisons or pesticides which are harmful to the environment and disrupt the food chain.
Owners of sports fields are also encouraged to put away sports nets or raise then 30cm off the ground when not in use. Do the same for garden netting.
Fay Vass, chief executive for BHPS, said: “Hedgehogs are a species on the edge of real trouble – but there are many small actions we can all do during #HedgehogWeek and beyond to help create and link fantastic habitat for hedgehogs.
“Just a little effort from each of us could make life a lot easier for them and help bring them back from the brink!
BHPS is also urging people to become a hedgehog champion for their area with Hedgehog Street – a project run by BHPS and People’s Trust for Endangered Species.
Visit www.hedgehogstreet.org for more information.
