What does my gardening have to do with the vanishing hedgehog?
Who even knew there was such a thing as #hedgehogawarenessweek ? It may seem a little ‘peripheral’ at first when you consider the world’s worries lately, but this subject is just a glimpse into what we all need to be considering more in our daily lives and actions. Now, as someone who rather bizarrely wrote their Masters thesis on hedgehog behaviours, you’d think I’m pretty well qualified, so that’s my theory anyway, if you bear with me on this subject.
Just this weekend I chatted to my neighbour, who has a child under ten who said they’d never seen a hedgehog before; considering we live in a rural village, this is stranger than you might think. With maybe two exceptions, I’ve not really seen one (squashed or alive) in the last ten years either; by contrast, growing up, you saw or heard hedgehogs regularly in the countryside, and indeed in urban gardens like my grandparents who lived in sunny Croydon and had regular visitors.
The thing that concerns me about this seemingly rapid disappearance is that it’s partly due to how we’ve fundamentally changed our gardening and outdoor practices. Having a garden or green space is one thing, but having a space that is wildlife-friendly is absolutely another. I’m often quite depressed to see the number of people in garden centres, DIY stores or the supermarket buying endless chemicals and treatments for their lawn, roses, pots or plants, all with the intention of killing insects and bugs. The problem is that ‘bugs’ (in this I include snails and slugs) are the most critical part of a healthy garden, quality soil, and thriving lawn, not to mention the staple diet of so many of our vanishing wildlife species. If you spray or obliterate the woodlice, slugs, centipedes and worms then our precious hedgehogs, blackbirds, mice and other birds will have nothing to thrive on. Add in to the mix that our gardens have been increasingly turned into decking, paving, gravel (dredged from the sea-bed) or driveways, and our wildlife basically doesn’t stand a chance.
Since Covid-19, I have been inundated with people sharing their thoughts and experiences of the value of wildlife, nature, green spaces and the richness of simple pleasures. So, during this wonderfully British of creations known as #hedgehogawarenessweek , I’d love to see a little less chemical spraying, concrete laying and clinical weeding and a lot more love for our bugs, insects and creepy-crawlies….and then our beloved hedgehogs will once again have something to visit our gardens for.