A new campaign launched by Grove Road Environmental Group (GREG) hopes to encourage people to make their gardens more hedgehog friendly through the creation of a new hedgehog highway.

A hedgehog highway, launched in Millhouses by GREG in partnership with Millhouses Fencing and Sheds, is a series of holes at the bottom of garden fences that allow hedgehogs to pass from garden to garden easily.

Emily Beardon, an associate of the group, told us that the highway gives hedgehogs “a much better chance of survival,” as it allows them to find habitats, food and mates.

Millhouses Fencing and Sheds, a local contractor company, is working in the area to make the holes. Mrs Beardon said: “As a group of volunteers, we didn’t necessarily have the skills or experience or the tools to go into people’s gardens and help them make holes.

“People come to us, the Grove Road Environment Group, and then we help Millhouses Fencing by compiling a list of people who want to join the highway and their names and addresses.

“I looked for a date where most people are free, and last time it was a Saturday morning, and Steve from Millhouses Fencing just spent the morning going around everybody’s gardens making holes.”

GREG has also been to local primary schools and nurseries to talk about hedgehogs and what we can do to help them. The hedgehog highway is one of many projects that the environmental group has put together, with others including repair cafes and guest speaker events.

Mrs Beardon said: “It’s just a collection of neighbours who are like-minded and wanting to create change for the better, [..] it’s all locally focused.

“I’m most passionate about biodiversity and conservation. But anyone in the group is able to suggest what kind of event or activity we’d like to run.”

The Millhouses hedgehog highway isn’t the first of its kind, with many different successful highways across the country. One environmental group in Chiswick, London, has managed to connect every garden on the street through their campaign.

Greener Greenhill in South Sheffield are hoping to join GREG’s hedgehog campaign in spring next year.

GREG also held a talk in June with ecologist and writer Hugh Warwick to talk about how to help hedgehogs and why their population is crashing.

Mrs Beardon said: “Everyone seems to love hedgehogs. The harder thing is actually getting them to do something about it.

“We had quite a few people sign up on the day after the event, and now we’re just going for another push to try and get the word out there.”

Further information about Grove Road Environmental Group can be found on their Substack. To get in contact, send them an email at groveroadenvironmentalgroup@gmail.com or via phone on 07810 770391. 

To find out more about hedgehog highways and conservation, you can visit the Hedgehog Street website.