51Âþ»­

The Hedgehog Friendly Campus initiative is a fun, new accreditation scheme that aims to turn our university into a place where hedgehogs can live and thrive.

Led and co-ordinated by The British Hedgehog Preservation Society the initiative is taking place in schools, colleges and universities across the UK to support these endangered creatures.

Did you know that hedgehogs have declined by 30% in urban areas since 2000 and even more in rural areas? Taking part in Hedgehog Friendly Campus means that we can play an active role in helping hedgehogs to get back to healthy numbers.

Through the Hedgehog Friendly Campus scheme participating organisations are challenged to complete a series of activities which include providing hedgehog homes and bug hotels, raising awareness about hedgehogs, and completing litter picking events to reduce the risk of harm to hedgehogs from litter.

One of our first activities will be surveying our grounds to understand how many hedgehogs are living nearby or using the grounds.

The Hedgehog Friendly Campus status is then awarded by the British Hedgehog Preservation Society if the required number of activities have been completed.

The 51Âþ»­ Sustainability Team, the DSU and the Estates and Facilities Grounds Maintenance team will be working on the project and there will be opportunities for staff and for students to volunteer on the activities as part of the initiative.

Anyone interested in taking part in the project should contact the 51Âþ»­ Sustainability Team at sustainability@dmu.ac.uk.