Hedgehogs, hedgehogs - we've all heard of them and seen them online, but when did you last see one in the wild?
Since the 1950's, hedgehog populations have dropped from 30 million to around 1 million today in the UK.
Why?
Because of us, humans. We have cut down hedgerows, urbanised our greenspaces, and made pesticide use as common as rain. Granted, there's many, many more factors (and it is certaintly more nuanced than these 3 alone), but the future does not look bright for our only spiney mammals.
What can be done to help?
We can make our urbanised landscapes a safe, food-rich haven for the hogs. We can build hedgehog highways in our gardens, clean our greenspaces of litter, improve their abundance of food (whether that be encouraging insect growth or by providing meat-based cat kibble), learn how to identify and help hedgehogs in trouble, but most importantly - make it clear that the most effective measures must come from a governmental level.
Read about our Hedgehog Friendly Campus accreditation goals and what you can do to become a hedgehog hero.
What is Hedgehog Friendly Campus?
The Hedgehog Friendly Campus (HFC) initiative is run by the British Hedgehog Preservation Society (BHPS), and is an accreditation to be earned by Universities across the UK. There are three levels: Bronze, Silver, and Gold. Our campus is already implementing many measures that meet the award criteria, but we haven't been chasing the accreditation - we are changing this!
Last year alone, over 30 Universities were awarded some level of accreditation, Keele has Silver is going for Gold!
How can I get involved?
Joining the society is FREE. There is no commitment required by any of our members, the most important part is to show our love and appreciation for these harmless creatures.
If you do decide to get involved, we will be focusing on completing tasks matching the HFC criteria to earn our accreditation. Alongside this, we will be looking at what mini-events we can organise to help our on campus hedgehogs outside of this criteria.
There is opportunity to get involved in:
- Hedgehog ecological surveys (footprint tunnels, wildlife cameras, visual identifications).
- Competitions.
- Litter picking events.
- Travelling to local primary schools to help educate the leaders of tommorow about hedgehogs.
- Other fundraising/information sharing/campaigning work.
But really, just being part of the team is enough :)
What is the goal of this society?
The main goal of this society is to keep the initiative running year-on-year. Every year, we have to re-apply and re-meet the criteria for whichever level of accreditation we are aiming for (even if it is to maintain Bronze status).
The work isn't significant and easily fits around full-time work (this year, it has been predominantly organised and completed by Jess alone!), we just need to keep the spirit and message open and going, to help our hedgehogs as best we can.
How do I join?
Select your free student membership, go to the basket to Checkout - it's that easy!
Remember: Membership is FREE with no commitment to anything, you simply being here is more than enough!
Who are we?
Jess Caldwell - Society Manager
Email: jess-caldwell@outlook.com
LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jessicalcaldwell
Megan Morris - Comms Officer
Email: m016375j@student.staffs.ac.uk
David Waugh - Finance Officer
Email: david.waugh@student.staffs.ac.uk
LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/david-waugh-78aa39177
Whilst your here!
If you're familiar with Leek Road Campus - we'd love you to complete this 60 second survey about hedgehogs in the area.
Nala - Team Hedgehog
Check out our photo of Nala, our cute, prickly friend in our gallery!
