Twelve gifts of Christmas

Handmade homes for hedgehogs

Hedgehogs may be the UK’s favourite wild mammal, but they’re disappearing fast and need our help. The CRT wants to put hedgehog shelters on our farms to help our prickly friends.

Hedgehogs have recently been added to the conservation Red List, which is unsurprising but heart-breaking. The UK hedgehog population has declined by approximately two-thirds since 1990 – a distressing trend. They face serious challenges as their habitat is threatened, making it increasingly difficult for them to locate food or navigate their shrinking territories. Consequently, many hedgehogs are forced to confront hunger and isolation as they struggle with the changing landscape they make their homes in.

Many factors have caused the decline in hedgehog numbers, including:

·        Their natural habitats being encroached on by housing developments;

·        Intensive farming practices reducing the availability of suitable habitat and food sources;

·        Their movement being hindered by the destruction of hedgerows, which were once safe travel corridors;

·        Road traffic - around 100,000 hedgehogs are killed on our roads every year.

How the CRT can help

There is an urgent need for concerted conservation efforts to safeguard hedgehogs and their delicate ecosystem, something the CRT are keen to be part of.

We want to place hedgehog shelters on our farms, to provide safe places for hedgehogs to shelter, hibernate and raise hoglets.

  

How you can help

We are incredibly lucky that our wonderful team of volunteers at Bere Marsh Farm are willing to make the hedgehog shelter, but the cost of the wood and other resources means each box will cost about £35 and ideally we would have ten of them.

Your donation is being made to the CRT's Twelve Gifts of Christmas fund. The CRT will endeavour to put your donation towards the appeal you select, but the funds will be prioritised according to the greatest need. The CRT will try to ensure that all the items within the 12 appeals are purchased, but if an appeal's target is not met or exceeded the funds could be diverted to another appeal to achieve the greatest benefit for wildlife and people on our farms.

12 Gifts of Christmas

Wildlife blog: Hedgehog habitat