Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust is encouraging gardeners across the two counties to help hedgehogs this autumn, as part of the national Wild About Gardens Week.
The annual celebration of garden wildlife hosted by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) and The Wildlife Trusts has joined forces with Hedgehog Street this year to highlight what gardeners can do to help this much-loved yet fast-declining species.
To discover more come along to our Wild About Gardens hedgehog-themed event at the University Of Leicester Botanic Garden, Oadby on Saturday 24 October, 10.30am – 4pm, with children’s activities, adult talks and wildlife group stalls. Come and meet a hedgehog, find out how to make your garden more wildlife friendly, look for hedgehog’s dinner and make a hedgehog life dial.
Of the 3,148 UK animal and plant species 60 percent have declined in the past 50 years for a range of reasons including loss of habitat. Many of our common garden species – hedgehogs, house sparrows, starlings and common frogs, for example – are becoming much less common. This is where gardeners can make a difference, by making their own gardens and the green spaces in their communities more wildlife friendly. Together we can help to halt the slide.
“Whatever size your garden is you can help wildlife. There are around 15 million gardens in the UK which could be a huge ‘nature reserve’ for wildlife if we all make a bit of space of nature. Hedgehogs travel up to 2 km each night to find food but need help in accessing gardens so create a Hedgehog Highway by making a hole in the bottom of your fence, wall or gate,” says Rachel Ibbotson, Education Officer for the Trust.
Celebrities Bill Oddie, Ben Fogle, Twiggy, and Chris Beardshaw are backing Wild About Gardens Week this autumn and urging gardeners to save the nation’s hedgehogs.
See wildaboutgardensweek.org.uk, see lrwt.org.uk and follow #wildaboutgardens on Twitter throughout the week for regular tips on how you can make a difference this autumn
Photograph c. Gillian Day.
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