Hedgehog Highways

21st Century Thame launched it’s Hedgehog Highways project in May 2023.

Their aim was to recruit Hedgehog Champions in Thame and connect every garden with a hedgehog highway – so that there is some way for hedgehogs to move from one to the other. They also wanted to make sure that each hedgehog hole was registered on Hedgehogstreet.org.

Increasing education about how encourage Hedgehogs

Education and awareness was of paramount importance in their mission to help hedgehogs in Thame. Helping people to learn about the need to check piles of leaves before vacuuming them up, looking under log piles before burning them, searching through the long grass before strimming and mowing – just to be sure they are not disturbing a nest of hoglets.

To help with this project you can:

1. 1. Be a Hedgehog Champion and learn about how to ensure hedgehogs in Thame have room, safety, food and water

1. 1. Create holes in your fences and your walls to allow the hedgehogs in – then register your hedgehog holes on Big Hedgehog Map.

1. 1. Talk to neighbours to ask them to extend your hedgehog highway.

1. 1. Join the 21st Century Thame group to help raise funds and awareness.

1. 1. Make a hedgehog house to give to neighbours with tidy gardens.

1. 1. Make a hedgehog feeding station to give to neighbours who aren’t sure how to support.

1. 1. Offer to visit gardens and advise where hedgehog holes, habitats and feeding stations are best located.

1. Become an enthusiastic local who can make neat new hedgehog holes for neighbours who don’t have the skills