Your garden could help wildlife thrive

THIS week is national Hedgehog Awareness Week as the hedgehog population in the UK is declining at a worrying rate.

Wildlife charities People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) and The British Hedgehog Preservation Society (BHPS) recently published a report which revealed that hedgehog populations have plummeted by between 30% to 75% in rural areas since 2000.

In order to combat this decline, experts from Hedgehog Street (a joint campaign run by BHPS and PTES) suggest focusing on maintaining and improving suitable habitats for hedgehogs living in urban and suburban environments, as well as restoring the balance between our human-centric world and the natural world all around us.

Grace Johnson, hedgehog officer for Hedgehog Street said: “Habitat fragmentation and lack of suitable habitat are two issues facing UK hedgehogs. Creating a small, 13cm x 13cm square hedgehog hole – or ‘hedgehog highway’ - in a garden fence is a great way to help, as this will allow hedgehogs to roam between neighbouring gardens in search of food, shelter and mates. Gardens can be a haven for hedgehogs, but only if they are accessible.”