Homemade hedgehog houses will help keep the small animals alive this winter.
A joint project between insurance broker Islands and the Creative Learning In Prison charity has seen a number of the wooden homes built so the hedgehogs have somewhere cosy to hibernate.
The project launched by the company’s ‘Green Team’ looks to put a halt to declining hedgehog numbers, by providing them with the safe accommodation, said Sean Corlett, a Senior Insurance Executive at Islands.
“The idea stems from our team’s ethos of protecting local wildlife and encourage biodiversity in island gardens. After some discussions with local wildlife groups, we learnt that the hedgehog population is closely monitored and unfortunately, their numbers are in decline.
“Hedgehogs are vulnerable, especially during winter, and by providing these safe nesting spaces, we are hopeful that we can all make a difference in helping our ‘hogs’ to survive and thrive.”
The homes have been made special, using recycled materials, and they were clearly in demand, with all 30 hedgehog houses finding a home in the gardens of people, organsations, and companies, said Mr Corlett.
“We have had a great response to the project, with all of the houses being allocated within the first few hours of us launching the initiative on our social media pages. We hope that the boxes will bring people closer to nature and the whole family can enjoy monitoring the houses and sharing updates.
“This has been a great project to work on and I am looking forward to seeing updates from people when their houses start being used by hedgehogs, I am confident that it will make a difference.”
The houses aren’t just going to make a difference for Guernsey’s prickles this winter, with the homes being distributed across Alderney and Jersey too.
“We are very grateful to Channel Seaways who have kindly offered to ship the boxes for us, free of charge,” Mr Corlett added. “We are also grateful to the GSPCA, who have kindly stored the boxes for us, ahead of the project launch.”
The homes provide shelter for at least one hedgehog, but can potentially fit a pair, and they’ve been specially designed for ease of use, and with weatherproofing in mind.
“Each wooden box has a removable weatherproof roof, which enables people to monitor the houses and keep them clean and stocked with food and water,” said Mr Corlett.
“Each house will have an Islands plaque attached to it, which includes a QR code link that will direct people to our hedgehog project page. There, they will find information about the project along with tips on how to prepare and look after the box and it’s new inhabitants!”