The East Bergholt community has been pulling together to look after their local hedgehogs, piloting the Hedgehog Friendly Village Project, delivered by the Dedham Vale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and East Bergholt Futures group. 

The hedgehog is a priority species in the Dedham Vale AONB Nature Recovery Plan.  Following large declines of hedgehogs in the first decade of this century across the UK, community action may have helped stabilise urban hedgehog populations. Rural areas, however, are continuing to experience declines, with between a third and three quarters lost in the past two decades.  

The Hedgehog Friendly Village Project aims to create hedgehog highways and promote hedgehog-friendly gardening to increase the connectivity of hedgehog habitats.  

On 5th March, a free Walk & Talk event took place in in East Bergholt with 23 people learning about the Hedgehog Friendly Village project. As well as Cathy’s talk, local gardens involved in the project were visited to demonstrate how hedgehog-friendly gardening can help our prickly pals and inspire others to do the same.  

After the success of the pilot project, the AONB hope to expand the initiative to other villages in the Dedham Vale to create greater connectivity for their local hedgehogs. 

Find out more about the Hedgehog Friendly Village project here.

Learn how you can make your garden more hedgehog friendly.