Hailsham, a hedgehog friendly town in the making!

The European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus)

Green Earth Plan interviews Hedgehogs 4 Hailsham Founder Gill Howson - May 2024

“Wouldn't it be great if we could make Hailsham the most hedgehog friendly town in Britain and then be a model that people all over Britain would follow? ”

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Gill, what was your motivation for starting Hedgehogs 4 Hailsham?

Running up to retirement I wanted to contribute to helping wildlife and whilst I keep a wildlife friendly garden myself, litter pick and lobby councils to reduce grass cutting, I felt that raising awareness would broaden my impact. I find it horrifying that we are losing so many species in Britain and that they will not be there for my grandchildren but on the positive side, if we made small changes individually, we could help turn this around. 

What was it about hedgehogs in particular that drew you to help them?

Hedgehogs are Britain's favourite mammal and research told me that hedgehog numbers in Britain dropped by 50% between 2000 and 2022 and that they are classified as 'vulnerable to extinction' on Britain's red list for mammals. Whilst I was researching, a neighbour enclosed their garden with high fences with gravel boards right down to the ground and it made me realise that awareness of the damage we do is low. I know that there is lots we can do to make a difference and that anything we do for hedgehogs will help other wildlife as well. 

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Can you share your vision for this community project?

My initial vision was to simply gather a few interested people and do some leafleting around our neighbourhoods. The British Hedgehog Preservation Society produces a great leaflet to share with neighbours. I wanted to encourage people to mark the hedgehog highways that they have created on the bighedgehogmap.org and I am tracking the numbers.

My original vision has grown, and I have ended up talking to Councillors and planners about wildlife and how they can be very aware that new developments can be built with hedgehogs and many more creatures in mind. Wouldn't it be great if we could make Hailsham the most hedgehog friendly town in Britain and then be a model that people all over Britain would follow?

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How have locals responded to this campaign?

I have been overwhelmed by the response which is wonderful, to name a few examples:

• I now have a great community group of people who are getting involved with awareness raising;

• Twice I have heard Town Councillors state that it would be great to have a stipulation that highways are put into fences in new housing developments. This is happening in some places in Britain so it is not impossible;

• I have been invited to talk to a few groups of people and on Hailsham FM;

• Many people have sent me photos of Hailsham hedgehogs and those in surrounding villages to create a gallery of our very own prickly friends. This tells us that we do have these gorgeous creatures living amongst us;

• I've had a great Social Media response;

• Since beginning the campaign, there are 9 additional hedgehogs and 2 additional hedgehog highways marked on the bighedgehogmap.org. I am sure that this will build over time.

• There has been a very small amount of negativity such as people believing that if they create a gap in their fence they will attract more rats and cats. This is a fallacy as rats are very able to find their way into your garden and cats go over fences very easily.

What has surprised you the most on this journey so far?

I have been thrilled by how many people really care. It has been amazing to go round the town with posters and have so many in our community want to talk about hedgehogs. It has also been really joyful to work with Town Councillors and when they asked me to help with creating a press release for Hedgehog Awareness Week, I was overwhelmed.

What are your top 5 tips for local people to help support hedgehogs?

1. Link your gardens - hedgehogs need to roam at least a mile a night to find mates, enough food and to keep them off roads. By connecting gardens with gaps in fences we can create huge nature reserves;

2. Create wild corners, log piles, leaf stacks and hedge plants to provide places to hide and find their favourite food; 

3. Use alternatives to harmful pesticides including slug pellets. You can download a booklet produced by the Pesticide Action Network UK that gives lots of help;

4. If you can cope with it, cut lawns less and leave wild patches (these can become really pretty). When you do cut the lawn and strim be careful, hedgehogs are more likely to curl up into a ball than run away if frightened and many of them are killed each year by garden machinery;

5. Ensure that there is a shallow bowl of water or a pond in the hot weather but remember that any ponds need to have a way for creatures to climb out safely, such as a pile of stones or piece of wood.

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If you are local to Hailsham, East Sussex, the Hedgehogs 4 Hailsham volunteers will be handing out leaflets with lots of advice in Quintins shopping centre in Hailsham on 11th May 9:30- 3pm. Otherwise you can email Gill on hedgehogs4hailsham@gmail.com with questions or for more information about the campaign.

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