GIVE A HOG A HOME: FORMBY SCHOOL AND DEVELOPER TEAM UP ON HEDGEHOG AWARENESS CAMPAIGN

As part of its pledge to create more wildlife friendly spaces, Merseyside developer Barratt Homes has teamed up with a local primary school to create hedgehog awareness posters at its Pinewood Park development.

MWjly21-149974 – BM – Freya, Emila, Deputy Headteacher Helen, and Barratt Sales Adviser Angela with hedgehog homes gifted by the developer

The homebuilder hosted a competition at Redgate Primary School to raise awareness in the area of the importance of hedgehogs to the ecosystem and how residents can play their part in looking after local hogs.

The winners received three hedgehog homes and food for taking part so that they can watch nature thrive for themselves, and they also received vouchers for their hard work.

The competition asked school children to design posters, with the colourful winning entries now being displayed around the Liverpool Road development.

The top tips included on the poster were supplied by Hedgehog Street, a joint campaign between People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) and the British Hedgehog Preservation Society (BHPS), and included ways people can create a safe space for hedgehogs to thrive.

Barratt Homes recently invited the winning pupils to the development to see their posters in place. Winners Emilia Bird, Freya Millhouse, and Olivia Thurgeson, all in Year Two, were delighted to see their designs on the streets of the development and hope that they will catch the attention of local passers-by.

Helen Gambon, Deputy Headteacher at Redgate Primary School, said: “We are delighted to be part of such a worthwhile campaign. We have recently been reading ‘The Hodgeheg’ by Dick King Smith, so the children are acutely aware of the need to protect these special, little animals.”

Hedgehogs were recently placed on the red list for British Mammals in 2020, this is a recognition of the vulnerable status of the species1.

Michaela Lancaster, Sales Director at Barratt Homes Manchester said: “It’s extremely important to us when building new communities that we’re also creating a space for wildlife to thrive.

“We teamed up with the fantastic team at Hedgehog Street to create some simple tips that residents can follow and enlisted the help of Redgate Primary School to help us make these colourful and eye catching.

“We hope this competition has not only inspired the children taking part, but also helped our new residents at Pinewood Park to see how following these tips can make a massive difference to local hedgehogs.”

Barratt Homes has been partnered with the RSPB since 2014 and is committed to supporting nature and wildlife at its developments in Merseyside. The homebuilder is currently supporting a new wildlife project by the RSPB, Nature on Your Doorstep, which is designed to inspire and advise everyone on how to turn their outdoor spaces into havens for wildlife.

Hedgehog Street currently has over 95,000 Hedgehog Champions across the UK who have pledged to make their gardens hedgehog havens.