Youngsters came face-to-face with one of London’s rarest mammals as they learned how to create a home for hedgehogs in a special event at the Ecology Centre, Carshalton.
Once a common sight across the UK, hedgehog numbers have declined by a quarter in the past ten years alone. Sutton is one of just a few areas in London where the animals live, and members of the centre’s Eco Experts club learned how they can help them to thrive.
Children learned what hedgehogs eat, where they hibernate and how they can make their back gardens more welcoming for the animals, which can travel up to a mile in a night in search of food.
Cllr Colin Hall, Executive Member for Environment and Climate Change on Sutton Council, said: “Sutton residents are lucky enough to be able to see hedgehogs right in their back yards. It’s very unusual for Londoners to be able to see these rare creatures, so I’d encourage all residents to do what they can to make their gardens more welcoming for the animals.”
A hedgehog in search of food
One of the young visitors said “I really enjoyed seeing the hedgehogs in real life. We learned a lot about what they eat – lots of people think that you should feed them bread and milk, but this is actually bad for them. Now I know what hedgehogs like, I’m going to put out food to try and get them to come and live in my garden.”
One of the best ways you can help hedgehogs is to make your garden an easier environment for them to travel around by leaving small gaps in your garden wall or fence. Avoiding the use of pesticides such as slug pellets and keeping your garden natural will allow hedgehogs to find worms and beetles to eat. They will seek shelter to hibernate in compost heaps and log piles, and you could provide food in cold winters and even buy a hedgehog home.
If you want to leave out food for hedgehogs then it is important to feed them the right things. Hedgehogs can’t digest milk, so leaving out bread and milk can make them seriously ill. Instead, put out cat or dog food (not fish flavoured), mild cheddar cheese, sultanas or cooked meat scraps, chopped up small enough for hedgehogs to manage. For more ideas on what you could do to help hedgehogs, visit www.hedgehogstreet.org
If you see a hedgehog in your garden, please support national recording projects by submitting your records to biodiversity@sutton.org.uk and taking part in the People’s Trust for Endangered Species hibernation survey.
The Eco Experts club runs every school holiday, and over Easter children will have an opportunity to learn about have frogs, toads and newts. To find out more, contact the Sutton Ecology Centre, Festival Walk, Carshalton on 02087 705822 or e-mail sec@sutton.gov.uk.