Hedgehog friendly campus
The Hedgehog Friendly Campus scheme aims to raise awareness of the plight of hedgehog, while taking practical steps to improve habitats and circumstances for hedgehogs across university campuses.
The UK’s favourite spiny mammals are in trouble. Since the beginning of the 21st century, the number of hedgehogs in rural areas has plummeted by as much as 50% and in urban gardens by 30%. This means that hedgehogs are moving out of their rural homes and into built areas where they face a whole host of challenges, including road traffic, litter, poisoning and lack of access to food and water.
As of 2020 there is an estimated number of just a million hedgehogs left, representing a 97% fall from the 30 million who once roamed the UK in the 1950s. If we don’t do something soon, this iconic mammal is likely to be a thing of the past in the UK.
Hedgehog Friendly Campus campaign aims to arm a new generation of hedgehog champions with the skills and knowledge to give the dwindling hedgehog population a fighting chance. It will educate our staff, students and the surrounding community about hedgehog friendly behaviour, both on campus and at home.
Our hedgehog friendly campus
The Hedgehog Friendly Campus scheme is sponsored by the British Hedgehog Preservation Society (BHPS) and has three levels, bronze, silver and gold. We were awarded the bronze level Hedgehog Friendly Campus award in 2022/23.
We worked towards fulfilling various criteria’s, including:
- holding hedgehog awareness events
- making sure our gardeners and security teams know what to do if they find an ill or distressed hedgehog
- putting stickers on strimmers to alert users of potential danger to hedgehogs
- carrying out hedgehog surveys
- raising money for the BHPS
