Skip to main content

Hedgehog Friendly Campus is go!

The Hedgehog Friendly Campus project is now at the University of Birmingham! It's funded by the British Hedgehog Preservation Society and open to all university staff members and students who want our campus to be a place where hedgehogs can thrive! The number of hedgehogs in the countryside has plummeted by around 50% and in urban gardens by 30% since the year 2000. There are perhaps just a million left, representing a 97% fall from the 30 million estimated to have roamed in the 1950s. This recent decline has been attributed to loss of hedgerows, greater usage of pesticides, litter, impermeable garden fencing and walls, and busy roads causing mortalities.

So what does a ‘Hedgehog Friendly Campus’ look like and what can we do to help hedgehogs on campus?

Staff and students join together to ensure:
  • campus is litter free 
  • plenty of joined up habitats for hedgehogs to roam 
  • opportunity for hedgehogs to eat and drink 
  • hedgehog houses are available to keep them safe and dry
We intend to address these actions by holding regular staff and student litter picks, creating hedgehog highways, provide wild places where hedgehogs can eat and drink safely, as well as provide log piles and houses where hogs can nest.

By joining this initiative and us all working together, we can make the University of Birmingham a hedgehog friendly campus and help us bring these prickly mammals back from the brink.


If you are a student or staff member of the University of Birmingham and want to join, go to https://www.greenimpact.org.uk/hedgehogs/register and select 'University of Birmingham' from the drop down menu.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Lockdown Litter Pick Challenge

T he University of Birmingham is taking part in the Hog-Friendly lockdown litter pick challenge! From 2nd November until 18th December 2020, the Hedgehog Friendly Campus campaign are holding a UK-wide competition to find out which university can collect the most litter in and around the local community.  The winning university receives a free Hedgehog House complete with a bag of hedgehog food for their campus! All participants (whether from the winning team or not) will also receive a digital certificate from us in recognition of their efforts. Why is litter bad for hedgehogs? The RSPCA receives over 5000 calls a year regarding litter  That’s an average of roughly 14 calls every day!   Everyday objects that seem perfectly safe, can sadly become hazardous when found accidentally by animals. By disposing our rubbish safely instead of littering, we are making choices that could save many lives . Hedgehogs are covered in thousands of spines which makes them vulnerable to bec...
Post a Comment
Read more

How to make a hedgehog hoopla

Here's a great hedgehog craft that you and the kids can make together! Adult supervision is required, but it's ideal for older kids and younger children will love to help paint. You can make use of any old cardboard boxes you have, and the colour scheme is up to you! I just used whatever paint colours I had in the shed. Tools: Cardboard-  you want it to be quite sturdy so that your hog doesn't flop over! Paint- choose any colours you have available Scissors- ADULT SUPERVISION REQUIRED Hoops/Pipe cleaners/florist wire/twine Step 1: Draw a rough outline of your hedgehog onto the card. Mine was approximately two ft by two ft. Step 2: Once you are happy with your hog's shape, cut out the body and feet. This can be a bit tricky, especially around the spikes, so you may want to ask an adult for help. Step 3: Cut out slots in the middle of both feet and at the bottom of the body. The slots are approximately two and a half inches long- you ...
Post a Comment
Read more