Debenham Green Team are excited to be launching a new hedgehog friendly village project early next year, during the February half-term holiday. At the inaugural Hedgehog Activity event we, will hear from hedgehog experts who will tell us about these garden creatures and how everyone can get involved in supporting them. Everyone is invited to join in this project by making a network of hedgehog friendly gardens throughout the village.
We’ve all heard about the plight of the hedgehog and many of us might struggle to remember when we last saw one scurrying across our gardens. But, all is not lost. You’ll be pleased to know that they are still around and there are some simple steps we can take to help them. Hedgehogs need neighbourhoods of linked up gardens and wild spaces to survive, and that’s where you come in and where you can be part of a Hedgehog Friendly village project.
Hedgehog spotting might just become your new hobby when you hear more about these charismatic creatures; what they need to thrive, how far their little legs carry them each night and how they can actually help us in our garden if we take action to help them. Don’t worry if you can’t make the event, there will be ways to find out more as the project progresses.
We hope you’re keen to get started, so here are a few things you can do straight away:
Resist the urge to be too tidy, those wild corners with piles of leaves and logs are just what a hedgehog need for shelter and for food (slugs, beetles, worms….yum!)
Hedgehogs benefit from extra food, using it to supplement their natural diet. Meaty cat or dog food and hedgehog food are suitable. Water is really important and is the only thing you should give them to drink.
Avoid garden chemicals such as slug pellets or insecticides, these are toxic to hedgehogs and can reduce the presence of their creepy-crawly natural diet.
Check for hibernating hedgehogs before cutting long grass to avoid injuring hedgehogs with power tools, rakes or feet! They won’t run away from a noisy machine.
Have a chat to your neighbours about whether you can make a small hole at the bottom of your fence, about the size of a CD to allow hedgehogs to pass between your gardens. The more opportunities hedgehogs have to link up their territory through gardens, the better.
