In collaboration with Westerleigh & Coalpit Heath parish council and the Hedgehog Heroes Here group, Frampton Cotterell Parish Council invites you to kick off our newest nature initiative by taking part Hedgehog Watch Week from the 5th to the 11th of May 2025.
All you need to do is watch out for hedgehogs then share what you see!
This watch week marks the beginning of our longer term Hedgehog Watch project, which aims to gather information on local hedgehogs all year round. We’ve scheduled our watch week to coincide with both national Hedgehog Awareness Week and the start of No Mow May.
By taking part in our our Hedgehog Watch project, you will be playing a crucial role in helping us create a comprehensive database on hedgehog activity across our village and beyond.
But what’s all this for?
The data that you help collect will be used by the Hedgehog Heroes and local parish councils to inform our plans and policies for the protection of hedgehogs.
By understanding where our remaining populations of hedgehogs are living, foraging, moving and dying, we will be able to effectively target those areas to maximise our efforts.
With the information you help us collect, we’ll be able to create hedgehog highways in the places they are most needed. We’ll gain a better understanding of the specific threats and dangers faced by hedgehogs in our local area. And we will be able to work with local people living near hedgehog hotspots, providing them with the tools, knowledge and support they need to look after their spiky little neighbours.
With your help, this project will help us to protect our local hedgehogs from the threat of extinction.
Get Involved
To get involved with our Hedgehog Watch, all you need to do is be on the look out for hedgehogs and then send us your findings!
Let us know….
- Where you saw a hedgehog;
- When you saw a hedgehog;
- Whether the hedgehog you saw was alive or dead (and if dead, whether it was roadkill);
- Any other information you think might be useful!
Share your findings with us on our official Hedgehog Watch form or by emailing your notes to our Community Wildlife Officer David on wildlife@framptoncotterell-pc.gov.uk.
Borrow A Wildlife Camera
Frampton Cotterell Parish Council now has new wildlife cameras available for our parishioners to borrow for free.
Reserve yours for Hedgehog Watch Week and set it up in your garden to find out whether you are getting any night-time ‘hog visitors to your garden!
To put your name down to borrow a wildlife camera, email our Nature Officer Daisy on nature@framptoncotterell-pc.gov.uk or pop into the Brockeridge Centre reception and speak with our Office staff.
If you manage to film any hedgehogs (or any other wildlife!) with our cameras, we’d love to see your footage! Email your wildlife camera videos to nature@framptoncotterell-pc.gov.uk, and we might share it on our social media and YouTube!
More Ways To Help Hedgehogs
Advice from Frampton Cotterell Parish Council’s Community Wildlife Officer, David Hanks
Hedgehogs need access to our gardens in order to feed and stay safe. You can provide this by creating 13cm x 13cm holes or tunnels in boundary walls and fences (AKA Hedgehog Highways).
Keep your garden safe for hedgehogs by remove netting or anything else they could get caught in.
Ensure ponds have shallow sides so hedgehogs can escape if they fall in whilst getting a drink.
Try to keep dogs away from hedgehogs.
Before strimming long grass or lighting bonfires, always check for hedgehogs first!
Log piles, compost heaps and leaf piles are brilliant hedgehog-friendly features that can provide shelter, food and nesting or hibernation sites for hedgehogs.
Increasing the diversity of native planting creates habitats for invertebrates, providing the natural food which hedgehogs and other wildlife need.
Community Nature Reserve
If you know there are hedgehogs in your area, we’d love for you to join our Community Nature Reserve.
The Community Nature Reserve is a joint project Frampton Cotterell Parish Council and Frampton Cotterell Nature.
By getting involved in this project, you’ll not only be helping local nature in a meaningful way, but you’ll also get the chance to receive free tree saplings, wildflowers and hedgehog highways, as well as receiving personalised advice on wildlife-friendly gardening!
To take part, all you need to do is register your garden on the Community Nature Reserve sign-up form. It’s as easy as that!