Kentish Express Ashford & District
Help to keep garden guest safe
With autumn finally here, the People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) and British Hedgehog Preservation Society (BHPS) have together produced a free guide of 10 tips to make your garden hedgehog-friendly and help halt the decline in this small British mammal.
Gardens and urban green spaces provide a vital habitat for hedgehogs, but their numbers have fallen by more than a third over the last decade. By making your garden more hedgehog-friendly this autumn you will be helping them prepare for hibernation, a critical time for any hedgehog.
A top tip is to always check bonfires before lighting them as a hedgehog may have crowled inside the mound to hibernate or nest.
PTES hedgehog officer Henry Johnson said: “In autumn hedgehogs will be foraging for food to store up their fat reserves and seeking out suitable shelter in preparation for hibernation. This coincides with a busy time in the gardening calendar so it would be great if people spare a thought for hedgehogs while pruning and mulching. Making log piles and storing leaf litter in a quiet corner creates natural nesting and feeding sites for them.” To download a free copy of the tips visit www. hedgehogstreet.org