New Campaign Asks Gardeners to Create Wild Patches for Hedgehogs

This July, gardeners, families and individuals are being urged to create wild patches as part of a new campaign to make more spaces with natural insect food and nesting materials for native hedgehogs.

The new ‘Go WILD for Hedgehogs’ campaign from Hedgehog Street – run by wildlife charities People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) and The British Hedgehog Preservation Society (BHPS) – simply involves leaving a wild, undisturbed patch in a garden and recording its location online. Not only does this create much-needed food and shelter for hedgehogs, but also tells conservationists at PTES and BHPS where hedgehog havens are, and where more are needed.

The campaign begins this summer when people in all corners of the UK are asked to choose a patch, strip or corner of their garden to leave undisturbed, untrimmed, and simply let it grow. Once selected, you will then just need to upload photos and record the location online. To go the extra mile, Hedgehog Street suggests planting wildflower seeds in autumn to further attract pollinators and other insects the following year. Throughout the year Hedgehog Street will share updates and top tips such as how to maximise wild patches, what to look out for and other ways to help hedgehogs as the seasons change.

Grace Johnson, Hedgehog Officer for Hedgehog Street said: ‘Wild patches are a brilliant way to help hedgehogs, and best of all, they’re minimal effort and cost! By simply allowing an area to grow a little wild and undisturbed, you can help to create a diverse habitat that’s perfect for hedgehogs and other garden wildlife in the heart of our villages, towns and cities. Instead of weeding and mowing, sit back, relax and watch nature thrive in your garden.’

Hedgehogs face many threats and are in widespread decline. According to the State of Britain’s Hedgehogs 2022 report published by BHPS and PTES, rural populations have plummeted by between 30-75% since 2000. Yet encouragingly, the report also showed that populations in urban areas may be starting to recover, likely thanks to Hedgehog Street’s 130,000 volunteer Hedgehog Champions and the wider public who continue to make their gardens and local green spaces more hedgehog friendly. The new ‘Go WILD for Hedgehogs’ campaign builds on this as gardens, and especially wild patches, can offer important refuges for hedgehogs and can help reverse the decline that this much-loved nocturnal species is facing.

Extra ways to turn any garden into a hedgehog haven include providing compost heaps and log and leaf piles to further encourage natural insect prey and offer places to nest, leaving out shallow dishes of water, and/or creating a wildlife pond with sloping sides or an escape ramp. Then, connect this amazing new habitat by popping 13cm x 13cm square holes (known as ‘Hedgehog Highways’) in or under garden fences to allow hedgehogs to move between green spaces in search of food, shelter and mates. Special ‘Hedgehog Highway’ signs can be bought from BHPS or PTES to tell neighbours and any future homeowners why the Highway is there, and why it needs to remain open.

Those without a garden can still help hedgehogs too; contact local councils and developers to highlight the importance of managing parks and public green spaces for hedgehogs, call for new-build sites to be hedgehog friendly, and raise awareness of the urgent need to help hedgehogs by sharing PTES and BHPS’ social media posts and talking with friends, family, neighbours and colleagues about ways they can help hedgehogs. Becoming a volunteer ‘spotter’ for PTES and BHPS’ National Hedgehog Monitoring Programme, which can be done from your own home, is a great way to help too.

To find out more and to register your wild patch, visit www.hedgehogstreet.org/go-wild-for-hedgehogs.

And, if you’re on social media, BHPS and PTES would love to see your wild patch pictures using #GoWildForHedgehogs.

Image: A native hedgehog. Credit Christopher Morgan.