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More than 16,800 people take action for hedgehogs through Hedgehog Friendly Campus this year
Delivered by SOS UK and part-funded by the British Hedgehog Preservation Society and public donations, Hedgehog Friendly Campus supports schools, colleges and universities to take practical action for nature while empowering students and staff to become champions for wildlife on their campuses.
Students, staff and volunteers from schools, colleges and universities across the UK have spent the past year creating habitats, removing hazards and inspiring others to take action for nature through the Hedgehog Friendly Campus & Schools programme.
This year, participants completed 956 Hedgehog Friendly actions, helping to make educational settings better places for hedgehogs and other wildlife. In total, an estimated 16,823 people were engaged through educational resources, assemblies, practical activities, workshops and volunteer working groups.
90 school, college and university teams registered to take part, and then submitted for audits, 48 accreditations were issued. At the heart of these efforts were 560 student and staff volunteers, who led working groups on their campuses and helped turn ideas into action.
Across participating sites, our teams collectively took some brilliant habitat improvement actions by:
As well as creating new habitats, teams worked to identify risks to hedgehogs on their campuses. A total of 218 potential hedgehog hazards were recorded such as high sided ponds, barriers such as fences, roads, litter and more, with 94% acted upon. Meanwhile, 179 staff members and 508 students received hedgehog first aid training, equipping them with the skills to respond if they encounter a hedgehog in need.
Community action was another key part of the programme. Participants carried out 450 litter picks, collecting 541 bags of litter, and raised £2,272 for the British Hedgehog Preservation Society (BHPS). A further 907 items were donated to BHPS and hedgehog rescues to support their work caring for sick and injured hedgehogs.
The programme also encouraged participants to contribute to wider conservation efforts. Teams recorded 61 positive signs of hedgehogs throughout the year, from sightings to evidence gathered through mammal footprint surveys or camera trap monitoring activities. Participants also classified 4,570 images for the National Hedgehog Monitoring Programme, helping to build a better understanding of hedgehog populations across the UK.
Bethany Holmes, Biodiversity Project Coordinator for Hedgehog Friendly Campus at SOS UK said “Behind every one of these awards are people who chose to give their time and energy to wildlife. Teachers who squeezed hedgehog activities into already busy timetables, students who turned their ideas into action, grounds teams who made space for nature, and volunteers who gave up lunch breaks and free periods because they cared enough to get involved.
What makes these achievements even more special is that they happened despite the many pressures facing schools, colleges and universities. Every action completed this year happened because someone decided wildlife was worth making time for. My own journey with hedgehogs started when I rescued a hedgehog in need almost 10 years ago, and I never imagined that experience would shape my career. For some of the students taking part in Hedgehog Friendly Campus, this may be their first real connection with hedgehogs or conservation. If even a handful of those experiences inspire a lifelong passion for nature, that’s something worth celebrating.”
Fay Vass, Chief Executive for British Hedgehog Preservation Society said: “Huge congratulations go to all this year’s awardees — it’s great to see such passion and determination to create hedgehog-friendly spaces up and down the country. Thank you for making a difference to our native wildlife. Hedgehogs are a species on the edge of real trouble – but there is so much we can do to help make life easier for them. Projects like this not only create and connect valuable habitat, they also raise awareness, inspire learning and, in some cases, spark a lifelong passion for nature and conservation. It’s wonderful to see so many schools, colleges and organisations getting involved!”
As hedgehogs continue to face challenges with habitat loss, fragmentation, and human related impacts these collective efforts demonstrate how educational settings can play an important role in creating spaces where hedgehogs can thrive!
To find out which schools, colleges and universities received a Hedgehog Friendly Campus Award this year, visit the Hedgehog Friendly Campus website for the full list of award recipients and to learn more about the programme.
