It’s Hedgehog Awareness Week – hedgehogs in the UK are at risk of extinction due to habitat loss, development, roads and litter with populations declining by up to 50% since 2000.

The Hedgehog Friendly Campus initiative is run by the British Hedgehog Preservation Society (BHPS); it aims to improve conditions on university campuses across the UK, creating habitats where hedgehogs can thrive.

Students from Exeter University have been getting involved, working to achieve HFC bronze accreditation for Streatham Campus. So far, the team has set up a working group with key members of staff, met with the Grounds Team to improve hedgehog safety and organised a stall during Go Green Week to raise awareness and fundraise for the BHPS. Next steps are litter picks, a social media campaign and celebrating Hedgehog Awareness Week.

One of the Grounds Team Gardeners, Colin, and the Arborists have done a great job making a hedgehog house from some fallen timber on the grounds. The house will offer a hibernation site that is safer from predators in the winter and can also be used as a nesting box for a mother and her hoglets in the warmer months.

How you can help hedgehogs: