University wins silver award for making campuses hedgehog friendly

In 2021, we attained bronze accreditation. We have now gone one step further and achieved silver accreditation! This is thanks to the hard work and dedication of the Hedgehog Friendly Campus group who are making the campus more appealing for our spiky residents. This is how we achieved it:

• The student union are advertising hedgehog-related opportunities for more students to get involved in
• The university’s grounds team will now leave log piles (where safe!) on campus to provide a natural shelter to the hedgehogs, and to entice some tasty invertebrates too
• We have done two hedgehog surveys on campus that may help us plan future activities
• We have planted hedgehog-friendly plants and tree species on campus (with the help of the grounds team), such as native wildflowers and hedgerows
• We have looked at the ponds and lakes on campus and added suitable escape routes for the hedgehogs, just in case they decide they want a swim or fall in
• We were featured on BBC sounds
• New staff are encouraged to get involved to help make our campus hedgehog friendly

What’s next for us? Going for gold accreditation!

This involves helping other hedgehog-friendly campus teams, running a campaign that ensures the lasting legacy of hedgehogs on campus and completing hedgehog surveys in the local community, to name a few.