Hadlow College students and staff took part in the 2021 Hedgehog Friendly Campus (HFC) scheme run by the British Hedgehog Preservation Society and are thrilled to report they have won the HFC Bronze Award.
Hedgehog population numbers have declined by at least 30% since 2000 and are now listed as vulnerable to extinction. Many people say they have never seen a live hedgehog, when they used to be much more commonly seen visiting our parks and gardens.
Pam Worrall, Lecturer in Animal Management, asked Jackie Williams, currently studying for the BSc (Hons) Animal Conservation and Biodiversity, and the student group BEAST (Biodiversity, Environmental and Sustainability Team) to take on the Hedgehog Friendly Campus bronze award as a project. The BEAST group supports projects that promote biodiversity and environmental sustainability around the college campus.
To achieve the HFC Bronze award, Jackie asked students and staff from across the FE and HE curriculum to help complete 12 tasks, which included fundraising for the British Hedgehog Preservation Society and Holborough Hedgehog Rescue at the Hadlow College Country Fair, carrying out surveys using hedgehog footprint tunnels, providing information on how to care for hedgehogs and what they need in the wild and who to contact if you find one during the day.
The final task of the year was a campus-wide litter-picking challenge, to help the BEAST group achieve the HFC Bronze Award. In total, 26kg of litter was collected over 2 hours by 35 students from the Fisheries, Agriculture and Animal Management departments.
Tara-Louise Douglas, who graduated in June 2021 with a BSc (Hons) degree in Animal Conservation and Biodiversity, commented about her participation in the Hedgehog Friendly Campus project: “taking part in HFC was really rewarding and we made great progress towards protecting hedgehogs and other wildlife at Hadlow. I'm really excited to see how the campus continues to transform for the benefit of hedgehogs."
The BEAST group are now working towards the HFC Silver award, with a fresh set of challenges starting in March 2022. Look out for their stand promoting all things hedgehog-related in the Animal Management Unit during Lambing Weekend, 26th-27th March.
And finally, congratulations to Jackie and the BEAST group for achieving the HFC Bronze award: we are sure you will achieve the Silver award this year with your dedication to such a great cause.
