Help our hedgehogs!

Your Challenge

Everyone loves a hedgehog, but in the UK numbers of these prickly mammals have plummeted – and they really need our help if they’re to rebound.

As the weather warms up and these wonderful little wanderers resurface after hibernating, they may reappear in your neighbourhood. Your challenge, if you have a garden, is to make it part of a ‘hedgehog highway’ by making a hole about the size of a CD case (remember them?) at the bottom of your fence*, or a similar sized small channel under it, to allow any local hedgehogs to roam further in search of food. They often feed on invertebrates that gardeners consider pests, so they might return your kindness.

While you’re at it, you can help even more by leaving a wild corner in your garden, allowing the grass and other plants to grow, which provides really good shelter for them, as well as materials for them to build a nest. And a pond with shallow sloping sides, or just a saucer of water, will help them too – especially if it’s really hot and dry in the summer.

Here are some simple instructions from The Wildlife Trusts on making a hole in your fence. Or if you’re inspired to do more, check out these Woodland Trust pages on how to feed them or make them a lovely protective house.

*Please get permission from your neighbours before cutting holes in fences.

Why you're doing this

It’s not just overseas where nature is in crisis: the UK is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world. Our hedgehog numbers have fallen by more than 65% since 1995. But we can help them to recover.

How you'll make a difference

Gardens provide hedgehogs with really important habitat. Enabling them to roam further along a safe garden highway will give them a better chance to thrive. Their numbers are continuing to fall, so it’s really important we help them.

Share this challenge

Track your progress

in the My Footprint App

Track your progress and discover many more challenges in the My Footprint app. Available for iOS and Android devices.