The village of Fressingfield has always been passionate about retaining their local heritage and protecting wildlife, with regular hedgehog sightings being recorded by residents, but over recent years, their efforts have expanded and real change is beginning to happen.
Our Wilder Communities Officer, Lauren, began working with Fressingfield Primary School on the Wilder Schools project in September 2023, in a bid to improve their school grounds for nature. With assistance from the school staff, the pupils installed nest boxes and bat boxes, built multiple minibeast hotels, planted a hedge line of tree saplings on their school field, and sowed wildflower seeds and spring bulbs to create pollinator pitstops across their outdoor space. They've undertaken regular species surveys to log change over time and ran fundraising events to be able to purchase wildlife cameras and monitor wildlife activity on site overnight. In August 2026, the school were required to replace their boundary fencing by Suffolk County Council, and in a bid to safeguard wildlife, the school requested that the contractors created multiple hedgehog highways along the length of fencing, to allow safe passage for our spiky friends in and out of the school grounds into the wider landscape. An incredible 20 hedgehog highways were cut into the fencing, proving a real commitment to helping nature.
In September 2025, after hearing about the efforts of the school, St Peters and St Paul's Church reached out to see whether the pupils would like to expand their efforts into the local churchyard and support the church's ARocha Eco Church journey. This is where Wilder Church began. The children made nest boxes and built a minibeast hotel in the churchyard, along with two hedgehog domes; naturalistic hibernaculums to support the local hedgehog population.
This led to an Eco Steering group to be formed in November 2025, with the Parish Council and other interested residents attending the inaugural meeting in a bid to help support nature across the village. From this meeting, an ancient pond restoration project with support of Essex & Suffolk Rivers Trust has begun, along with the Fressingfield Hedgehogs and Green Corridors project. The village are well on their way to becoming a Hedgehog Hero Village, as part of Suffolk Wildlife Trust's Hedgehog Friendly County campaign.
The passion and tenacity of the residents of Fressingfield is a beacon of hope for nature recovery in rural areas, and highlights how working collaboratively can make a real difference for wildlife.
Virginia Skoyles, Sancroft Benefice Administrator, shared this feedback: ”It has been a privilege and a joy working with Fressingfield Primary School on the Wilder Church project. Seeing the students feel at home in our churchyard, enjoying their study there, including the building of a bug hotel, hedgehog domes and bird boxes, has been exhilarating and we have learned so much from them too.”
Hedgehog populations have declined by 30%-75% in rural areas; a shocking decrease in just 25 years. Our Hedgehog Friendly County campaign aims to improve local greenspaces for hedgehogs through individuals and communities taking practical action, raising awareness, and speaking up for a beloved Suffolk species.
If you or your community would like to help hedgehogs in your local area and become Hedgehog Heroes, find out more here Hedgehog Friendly County | Suffolk Wildlife Trust
