Ipswich gets artistic for hedgehogs!

Last month we invited the residents of Ipswich to get arty for hedgehogs and they didn't disappoint! By designing and creating an elaborate hedgehog-sized garden entrance for our Hedgehog Awareness Week competition, we hope even more gardens will now be accessible for our urban hedgehogs.

Using marine plywood very kindly donated to us by Spirit Yachts, we cut 70 hedgehog-sized door frames, just the right size for a hedgehog to enter. The frames could then be decorated and attached to a garden fence or gate to provide an eye-catching hedgehog-sized entrance to a garden!

Of course the hedgehog may not appreciate the creators artistic talents, but a randomly decorated fence hole is going to attract attention from neighbours, and might start conversations that lead to the creation of more Hedgehog Highways - and that's what we need! Hedgehogs can travel around 2km in a night, and need access to many gardens to survive. A viable population needs around 1km2 of well-connected habitat. That's a lot of gardens that need hedgehog-sized fence holes, but the holes only need to measure 13x13cm.

We ran a series of Hedgehog Awareness Week events and loved seeing everybody's Hedgehog Doorway creations! The winner of our competition (and a small hedgehog hamper) was this brilliant design created by Annabelle Hughes. Brilliant work Annabelle - I hope you are rewarded by a visiting hedgehog soon!