New conservation area in Rugby will help save hedgehogs

Warwickshire Wildlife Trust is launching a new hedgehog conservation area in Rugby.
Christopher is a rescued hedgehog.Christopher is a rescued hedgehog.
Christopher is a rescued hedgehog.

This follows the debut Hedgehog Improvement Area set up in Solihull over a year ago.

The initiative is being funded by the British Hedgehog Preservation Society (BHPS) to address a continuing national decline in hedgehog numbers.

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Residents and businesses will be encouraged to take part in mapping, monitoring and helping to conserve the animals.

Hedgehogs roam across large areas in search of food and mates, and seek out safe and sheltered places to rest.

Deborah Wright, Warwickshire Wildlife Trust’s new hedgehog officer, aims to tackle the decline head-on in Rugby.

She will be encouraging people of all ages and backgrounds in both urban and rural communities to make outside spaces, such as gardens and churchyards, hedgehog-friendly.

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Deborah said: “Local people and businesses can get involved in the initiative, through fundraising, sponsorship, habitat management and surveying.

“We will be encouraging homeowners across Rugby to make holes in their fences, about the size of a CD case, for hedgehogs to travel through to increase habitat connectivity.

“We also hope to provide more shelter for hedgehogs by encouraging people to leave areas of their gardens to go ‘wild’. People will be able to borrow hedgehog footprint tunnels and remote cameras to set up in their gardens, which will help us to map and monitor our hedgehog populations.”

Deborah will be raising awareness through public engagement events and activities. A launch event will be held at Caldecott Park in Rugby. on Saturday.