Give hedgehogs a helping hand in Knowle West
Half term activities for families to build hedgehog houses
Main image Tom Marshall. Courtesy of Avon Wildlife Trust.
The much-loved hedgehog is in trouble – with numbers seriously declining in the past few years.
According to charity Hedgehog Street – they are currently being lost from the parks and gardens of Britain at a rate of 5 per cent a year – the same as tigers are being lost globally.
Reasons for the decline are being researched – but loss of and changes to habitat are some of the contributing factors.
BS4 Hedgehog Project is a Facebook group set up this year to help our prickly neighbours thrive in the area.
Together with Knowle West Media Centre (KWMC) they have secured funding from Bristol Health Partners to build homes for hedgehogs with residents this autumn.
KWMC: The Factory has created 90 flat-packed hedgehog houses which the animals can use for breeding or hibernating.
These are being put together in workshops in Knowle West over the half term holiday – following successful trials at Filwood Community Market. The finished homes can then be placed in local gardens or other green space in BS4.
Annali Grimes from KWMC explains: “The workshops are free for residents in BS4. You will build your own hedgehog house, connect with neighbours and get tips on how to make your garden hedgehog-friendly.
“Through this project we are connecting neighbours, bringing them together around conservation and encouraging people to share their own wildlife stories.
“We will actively look to support neighbours to create wildlife corridors in their gardens and advise them on how to make their gardens hedgehog friendly, whilst promoting the BS4 Hedgehog Project, Hedgehog Street and wildlife initiatives across the city…”
Annali says urban gardens are becoming increasingly important for conservation as natural wildlife habitats diminish.
“Hedgehogs tend to adapt well to human settlements, by considering them in our gardens and urban planning, we can do a lot to give them a helping hand,” she says.
According to Hedgehog Street, people can help their survival by not using pesticides, creating log piles and keeping parts of the garden a bit untidy and wild.
Hedgehogs travel up to 2km a night – and creating wildlife corridors between gardens can also avoid them being killed while crossing the roads.
The workshops to build hedgehog houses are running throughout half term – with limited places.
Dates are:
- Monday, 25 October, 11am-1pm, at Redcatch Community Garden, BS4 2RD
- Thursday, 28 October, 11am-1pm, Family Fun at Inns Court Family and Community Centre, BS4 1TR
- Thursday, 28 October 2021, 2pm-4pm, Family Fun at Filwood Community Centre, BS4 1JP
- Friday, 29 October 2021, 11am-1pm, Family Fun at the Bommie, on the Northern Slopes with Avon Wildlife Trust, BS3 5JB
- Friday, 29 October 2021, 2pm-4pm, Family Fun at the Bommie, on the Northern Slopes with Avon Wildlife Trust, BS3 5JB
You can book here or for more information visit https://kwmc.org.uk/projects/meet-neighbours-hedgehogs/ You can also email annali.grimes@kwmc.org.uk or leave a message for her at KWMC on 0117 903 0444.
For more advice on helping hedgehogs visit: Facebook: BS4 Hedgehogs or www.hedgehogstreet.org where you can learn more about making a hedgehog highway through your garden, map out hedgehog sightings and get lots of tips on making your gardens hedgehog safe.
Avon Wildlife Trust also has ideas to help hedgehogs out in gardens: www.avonwildlifetrust.org.uk/actions
Other local wildlife groups include https://www.facebook.com/groups/bs4wildlife/ or sign up for a Bristol-wide newsletter at MyWildBedminster@virginmedia.com
