Author: Robin Bramah

It’s coming to the time of year where our spiky little friends are on the move and it’s up to you to get your friends and family involved to help hedgehogs in your local community. Coming out of hibernation and clocking a distance of 1-2km per night, it’s important to be mindful of how you can support them on their way. So how can you get involved? We’ve compiled a list of the best ways you can support a happier, safer spiky community.

Spike Their Attention

Being able to spread the word to both your inner circle and to your local community will help to get everyone on the same page about hedgehog awareness in the coming months. There are plenty of options you can use to get the word around, such as a social media post or video, posters in your local community on notice boards, bus stops or similar, and even holding a small talk with volunteers to build a team that’s ready for the challenge!

Helpings Hogs On and Offline

Being able to support hedgehogs goes a long way for keeping their endangered species in our community, and you’d be surprised just how easy it is to get involved to spread awareness and raise funds. We’ve compiled a list of key activities you can get onboard with to help our little hogs below.

1. Create a Social Media Page 

There’s nothing better than being able to get something for free is there? Why not spike your audience’s attention by creating something as simple as a facebook page or an instagram account that’s focused on spreading awareness in and around your local community for hedgehogs. Posts could include important dates to remember when you’re doing local fundraisers to support the cause, fun facts about hedgehogs and simple pointers to educate your followers on exactly how to get involved this year.

If you need some inspiration from some excellent pages already out there, check out the British Hedgehog Preservation Society, Amazing Grace and more for great ways on how to approach this prickly topic!

        2. Bring Your Community Together

Everyone in and around your local area is more than capable of supporting this brilliant cause, perhaps they’re just a bit on hedge about how they can get involved! Speak closely with your friends and family on exactly why you’re getting stuck in, and the more minds you have involved, the less you have to worry about hedging your bets on the perfect plan.

First things first, what’s one thing we love almost as much as we love our little hogs? Cake!

Nothing gets the local area out more than a good bake sale, and you’ll be surprised just how much this will help support your cause. Maybe a local fundraiser car wash? A book sale? There are plenty of options to create a special incentive for a brilliant initiative, it really does change it from a spiky conversation to a ball of happiness for both helpers and hedgehogs.

        3. Be Cool, Be Hedgy

Hosting a talk in the local community will be a great place to start when putting across your motive for the cause. First things first, educate your audience the basics that they’ll need to know about hedgehogs – what time of year do they typically come out of hibernation? How can they move through your garden safely? How can you help feed Hedgehogs and what food is best to give them? Get them started on the right track here and get your spiky community rolling!

        4. Maintain The Spiky Community

Once you’ve put together your top team of hog experts, created a fundraiser, educated your group and kept our spiky friends both fed and on the move through our gardens safe and sound, you’ve made a special start to saving their community. Now the onus is on you and your community to keep up these standards and be on the lookout for them visiting your gardens soon!

There you have it, you’ve got all the tools you need to get your campaign off the ground to help hedgehogs in your local area and help spike the attention of the community. Keep an eye out for spiky little visitors in your garden soon!

 

It’s spring which means hedgehogs are now coming out of hibernation! However, with increased activity, comes increased risk. There are many factors that have led to the decline of the hedgehog population, including increased road traffic, loss of natural habitats and lack of food but there are ways we can help save Britain’s hedgehogs without even having to leave our home! 

Social media can play a huge role in protecting wildlife, all you need to get started is a Facebook, Twitter or Instagram profile. 

How can I make a difference using social media?

1. Education is key 

The first thing you can do is start by following accounts with a shared interest for hedgehogs and wildlife welfare. Some of our favourite accounts include Amazing Grace the Hedgehog and the British Hedgehog Preservation Society and our social media account, Spike’s Hedgehog Foods, also has a vast amount of educational resources and helpful tips. Making sure you are up to date with the latest news and advice around helping hedgehogs will make it easier for you then to be able to share this knowledge with your friends. 

1. Share relevant content 

Whether you share advice and tips created by other social media accounts or if you decide to create your own image, status or video, this has the potential to be seen by a wide range of people. Following accounts with similar interests will help you build your own social community that will in turn help you get your message to the right people.

Social media has the power to shape and influence people’s opinions. If sharing one piece of educational information can encourage just one person to be more aware of hedgehogs in their local area, this could save a hog’s life. Hedgehogs are mysterious creatures that many people don’t know much about. Here are some of the key topics we would suggest sharing with your friends, family and peers on social media:

• How to spot an injured or sick hedgehog
• What food to provide for your local hedgehogs
• What you can do to care for them 
• How to make your garden hedgehog friendly 

 

1. Take action 

Petitions are a great way to make a real change either in your local area or nationally. Websites such as Change.org make it easy to get involved with existing petitions or you could even create your own. 

Sharing these on your social media is a good way to help get others involved too. A recent survey, calling for hedgehog highways to be made a mandatory requirement in new build housing, has gone viral with the help of social media. If you’d like to get involved you can find the petition here. 

1. Support your local hedgehog rescue or charity 

Using social media is the best way to connect with your local hedgehog rescue or charity. Although donating is a great way to help there are many other options that can be done through social media. 

Engaging with your local rescue, whether that be commenting on their posts, sharing their content or messaging them to see what you can do to help, will all make a big difference. When you engage with another account’s content you are in turn increasing the amount of reach their posts will get which will help them spread awareness. 

1. Join community groups 

In most towns, villages and cities there will be a Facebook page that people use to discuss local matters and share community news. These are great to help spread awareness of hedgehog activity in your local area and educate/inspire others to join you in helping put a stop to the declining hedgehog population. 

You may find that there are already lots of people within your local community that are doing their bit to help or are interested in getting involved. If this is the case you could look into setting up a hedgehog specific Facebook group where you can share ideas and thoughts or meet up in your local area to discuss how you could take your initiatives further. 

For hedgehog tips, advice and to chat to like-minded hedgehog lovers follow Spike’s Hedgehog Food on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.