Help Northumbria support Britain's hedgehogs

In line with Hedgehog Awareness Week, running from 2 - 8 May 2021, we have organised events that staff and students can get involved in to help preserve hedgehogs on campus and in the local community.

The world can be a dangerous place for hedgehogs due to roads and traffic, lack of food and water, and destruction of their natural habitat. There are now less than 1 million hedgehogs left in the UK, which means they are at risk of becoming extinct in the next 20 years.

The British Hedgehog Preservation Society (BHPS) is a charity dedicated to helping and protecting hedgehogs in the UK. We have been a member of their HedgehogFriendly Campus campaign since 2019, a project which aims to turn university campuses into places where hedgehogs can thrive, and were recently one of just twenty UK universities to achieve the Silvercertificate.

In keeping with this great work, there are many ways for Northumbria staff and students to help support hedgehogs on campus and beyond as part of Hedgehog Awareness Week:

• Northumbria’s Students’ Union have organised the Hedgehog Friendly Litter Pick on Wednesday 5 May from 9am to 5pm to prevent hedgehogs from getting trapped or injured from harmful litter on and around our campuses. You will be provided with sanitiser, gloves, and the necessary equipment to litter pick in a Covid-safe way.
• Join Dr Matthew Pound at our virtual ‘Hedgehog Friendly Campus (Going for Gold!)’ event on Friday 7 May from 1pm to 1.30pm, where you can learn more about Hedgehog Friendly Campus and the many ways you can support your local hedgehog population. Sign up for the event here.
• Create your own hedgehog haven in your garden using guidance from the BHPS.
• Report any sightings of hedgehogs (dead or alive) on the Big Hedgehog Map to provide vital data into hedgehog numbers in Britain.

You can read more about the small steps you can take to save hedgehogs from extinction in a blog post written by final year Law with International Business student and Northumbria Hedgehog Friendly Campus Ambassador, Lovisa Martinell.

Please get in touch for any further information or visit our HedgehogFriendly Campus web page.

To find out more about the ways we are supporting biodiversity at Northumbria, visit our sustainability web pages.