Greystones Primary School
We are a Hedgehog Friendly School!
Hedgehogs are one of Britain’s best-loved mammals, but have declined by so much that in July 2020, they were officially listed as Vulnerable to Extinction on Britain’s IUCN Red List.
There are many reasons for this drastic reduction in numbers including: plastic litter, road traffic, the use of poisons such as slug-killers, a lack of water and of natural food such as slugs and beetles and a lack of unconnected habitat. Unfortunately most of these threats are created by us humans.
We want to make positive changes for hedgehogs and other local wildlife so, in 2022, we signed up to become a Hedgehog Friendly School!
This lovely hedgehog was spotted in Mrs. Barker's garden in September 2022!
We want to achieve three main objectives:
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educate ourselves and our community on what hedgehogs and other local wildlife need to thrive
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educate ourselves about our own impacts on nature and what we can all do to make a positive difference
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make a difference by enhancing habitats and protecting and boosting biodiversity.
A sighting of a hedgehog by Emmie's dad.
Click on the photo to view the video.
To report a sighting of a hedgehog, or to see how many hedgehogs there have been spotted in your area, click the Hedgehog Street logo below.
Our Hedgehog Ambassadors of, all ages, met for the first time in Spring to find out all about hedgehogs and the hazards they face
One of the first jobs was for our Y6 Ambassadors to carry out a survey of the school site.
They talked with our caretakers to highlight hazards to hedgehogs and jointly work out what we could do to improve our school site.
We talked about what we could do to make habitats better for hedgehogs at home as well as at school.
Then we took positive action!
Our Hedgehog Ambassadors regularly put water out for the hedgehogs
We gave out hedgehog leaflets at our summer fair; they’re available at our school reception or here: Top-Tips hedgehogs BHPS.pdf
We also made our own posters and videos
To boost the population of minibeasts that hedgehogs and other wild animals eat, we have:
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taken part in and publicised No Mow May
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made a leaf pile and two log piles
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left plants standing in autumn
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made a bug hotel
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planted a wide variety of plants
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left messy areas!
We talked about how to keep hedgehogs safe on Bonfire Night and put posters around our school and at our allotment.
Mr Dewick made a hedgehog hibernation hut
Many families have made a hedgehog hibernation house.
Hedgehogs need our help! You can do some simple things like we have to become a hedgehog hero. You’ll also boost biodiversity in your garden or local area!
Useful websites & social media
The Hedgehog Street Campaign
The Hedgehog Friendly Campus
Follow the Hedgehog Friendly Campus and Schools campaign on social media: @hogfriendly
