Myerscough campus continues to evolve ‘Hedgehog Friendly Campus’ status

The Hedgehog Friendly Campus scheme aims to raise awareness of the plight of hedgehog, while taking practical steps to improve habitats and circumstances for hedgehogs across university campuses.

The Hedgehog Friendly Campus project is funded by the British Hedgehog Preservation Society and runs nationally.

As part of that, recently we released two hedgehogs in the gardens on the campus grounds – Bonnie, who was rescued by a Myerscough Zoology students as an orphaned hoglet last autumn, and Alex, a male hedgehog. 

Lecturer in Animal Studies, Frankie Kerridge, said: ‘’A huge thanks to Hedgehog Rescue Blackpool for looking after them for us.

‘’We have fantastic hedgehog homes have been built to keep on campus. They will be hidden and we hope that hedgehogs will visit them and ideally hibernate in them over winter.

‘’They’ve been built using upcycled materials, including some blue pallet wood and felt on the top to keep them waterproof.

‘’The design also encourages lots of insects and earthworms and beetles so they have plenty to feast on.’’

The idea of a Hedgehog Friendly Campus began at Sheffield University in 2018, and last year, the British Hedgehog Preservation Society funded a national roll-out.

The campaign offers Bronze, Silver and Gold levels of accreditation, by undergoing activities including surveys, building hedgehog houses, hedgehog decline awareness, rescue, and fundraising.

Hedgehogs are officially listed as vulnerable to extinction on Britain’s IUCN Red List, and have declined around 50% in rural areas and 30% in urban areas in the last twenty years.

The way green space is managed can have a big impact on the survival of hedgehogs, making the Myerscough campus ideal to be considered or such status.

Click here to view the full range of Animal Studies programmes available at Myerscough College and University Centre at school leaver and degree level

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Myerscough continues to evolve ‘Hedgehog Friendly Campus’ status

Myerscough achieves Bronze ‘Hedgehog Friendly Campus’ status