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Penarth Hedgehog Street

We can make Hedgehogs' lives a little easier by removing the barriers within our control – for example, by making holes in our garden fences and walls for them to pass through.

 

Hedgehogs travel around one mile every night through our parks and gardens in their quest to find food and other hogs to mate with. If you have an enclosed garden you might be getting in the way of their plans.

 

We now know that one of the main reasons why hedgehogs are declining in Britain is because our fences and walls are becoming more and more secure, reducing the amount of land available to them.

 Hedgehogs

The Vale Local Nature Partnership alongside Vale of Glamorgan Council are launching a pilot scheme to create hedgehog highways on a residential housing estate in Penarth. 

 

Penarth Hedgehog Street will help to connect gardens allowing hedgehogs more space to breed, find food and keep them off the roads. This will form part of the national Hedgehog Street campaign.

 

As part of the project, residents will be able to borrow footprint tracking tunnels and camera traps to monitor and record the presence of hedgehogs.

  

Hedgehog-street-map

Register for Pilot Scheme

Eligible residents will receive a leaflet through their door inviting them to take part in the Penarth pilot scheme.

 

Residents who join the project will receive a hedgehog highway sign to pin above your hedgehog hole. 

 

If you've received a leaflet, you can register an interest via our online form. 

 

Register Online 

 

Privacy Notice.

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Not in the Pilot Area?

Don’t live in this area and wish to get involved and launch your own hedgehog street in your neighbourhood?

 

Contact LNP Co-ordinator Emily Shaw:

 

How you can help Hedgehogs

If you want to help encourage hegdehogs into your garden, there are a few things you can do:

 

  • Linking your garden to create ‘Hedgehog Highways’
    Hedgehogs roam between 1-2 miles each night during the active season and therefore it is very important they have access to a wide range of gardens. Cutting 13 x 13cm holes (a CD is a good template) in walls or fences will let hedgehogs through but will be too small for most pets.
  • Avoid using slug pellets and other chemicals
    Using pesticides, insecticides and slug pellets severely reduces the amount of food available in your garden. These are toxic and can kill hedgehogs if they ingest slugs or snails that have died from slug pellets.
  • Leave a wild patch
    Let an area of your garden to grow ‘wild’ and don’t cut it back during winter as hedgehogs may nest there. A wild area will also provide habitat for lots of insects and bugs perfect for a hedgehog feast.
  • Provide a safe home
    Place your hedgehog box somewhere where it is sheltered and quiet so not to cause disturbance. You can place dried leaves or straw inside the box as suitable bedding material.
  • Monitor your hedgehogs
    Use hedgehog tunnels or camera traps to keep a track on prickly visitors to your garden.
  • Make your pond safe
    Hedgehogs are adept swimmers but ensure that ponds have shallow sloping sides, with plenty of suitable exit points such as stones, logs or chicken wire to be used to climb out.
  • Check long grass and log piles
    Take care when mowing long grass and tidying wild patches as they are ideal nesting sites. Check log piles thoroughly for wildlife before lighting any bonfires.
  • Put out food and water
    NOT bread and milk. Cat or dog food is best with fresh water provided.

 

Hog Monitoring

We are encouraging all residents in the Vale to record their hedgehog sightings.

Please submit your records using either of the three options below:

  1. Go to SEWBReC, the Local Environmental Record Centre.
  2. Download the LERCWales App (see instructions).
  3. Download a hedgehog survey sheet from this page.

Share your hedgehog encounters with us by emailing the survey sheet to eshaw@valeofglamorgan.gov.uk or on twitter using the hashtag #ValeNature and tag us:

 

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