Between 31^st July – 5^th August 2023, we conducted a hedgehog survey in areas around Scarman and the Sherbourne residences. At the beginning of the week we were just finding footprints and droppings from mice, however on Friday we found some hedgehog prints! This is the first time that we have found hedgehog prints in a hedgehog survey on campus which is brilliant, as it allows us to become more aware of the biodiversity we have and show that our campus is becoming more hedgehog friendly. Thank you to the volunteers who have helped put these out in the rain and check them each day in the mornings.

We use hedgehog tunnels to survey the hedgehogs on campus. Inside them, there is kitten food to attract the hedgehogs, animal friendly ink, and paper to record any footprints. The paper for our July/August survey was provided to us by the Health Centre, as they had used it on one side but the other side was clear. Instead of us using new paper, we used this scrap paper to reduce our impact.

The University of Warwick is part of the Hedgehog Friendly Campus Initiative. Currently we have the Silver Accreditation with Hedgehog Friendly Campus, and we will be working towards the Gold Accreditation in the coming academic year, between 2023-2024. Hedgehogs are seriously threatened in the UK, due to traffic, habitat loss and many other issues. If you want to get involved and help us work towards making campus more hedgehog friendly, why not take part in our next survey, beginning on Monday 11^th September, which you can sign up to here. You can also get involved in our monthly litter picks, which help ensure that no hedgehog ingests or gets tangled in litter on campus, as litter poses a serious threat.

If you want to find tips on how to make your garden more hedgehog friendly, you can find this out here.