The OU Students Association (along with The Open University) is excited to announce that we have re-joined the Hedgehog Friendly Campus scheme.
Hedgehog Friendly Campus (HFC) is a national award scheme designed to protect hedgehogs, enhance their habitat and create awareness. It gives awards to universities and colleges who complete actions from a 'hedgehog-friendly' toolkit.
This work involves working with our grounds team to continue improving our Walton Hall campus, as well as raising awareness of how to make your spaces at home hedgehog-friendly. This will help us to promote biodiversity and enable a safe environment for hedgehogs and other wildlife.
The Association has already achieved HFC bronze status and we hope to obtain our silver accreditation in the coming year.
Background
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Since 2022, staff members at the OU have been working together across faculties to improve the campus for wildlife as part of the Hedgehog Friendly Campus initiative, and we were successfully awarded the bronze award in 2023.
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Hedgehog Friendly Campus is part of Students Organising for Sustainability (or SOS-UK) who work with the British Hedgehog Preservation Society.
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HFC is a national award scheme for campuses where we complete actions from a set toolkit to help hedgehogs and other wildlife.
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There are two main strands of the scheme – to help raise awareness and to make changes on campus.
Why hedgehogs?
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Hedgehogs are found across the UK mainland in woodland edges, gardens, parks and fields. They can live in urban and rural environments.
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Sadly, hedgehogs are now listed as 'vulnerable to extinction' on the UK's IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List.
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Reasons for this include danger from environmental poisons, roads, litter, drowning and lack of food, water and a connected habitat.
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Mostly, these threats are created by humans.
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Campuses often have large areas of land which are safe for hedgehog habitats, and that's where our work comes in.
Stay up-to-date
Follow our Sustainability Rep, Jethro and OUstudents on X and our other social media channels to stay in the loop and learn how to help protect these endangered animals.