24-year-old girl born and raised in the East Riding of Yorkshire, UK. Growing up, I was fascinated by nature and design, saving bumble bees and creating little habitats for them. You could say it was architectural design, but for bugs…
The older I got the more I tried to merge my passion for both design and nature into my life. Fast forward to 2022, I spend a lot of time in the winter fostering underweight hedgehogs so that they are ready for release back into the wild, on behalf of Hessle Hog House. I also, recently graduated with an upper second class honours degree in Architecture! After finishing my degree back in 2021, I realized that my third year project had set me on a path to become involved in environmental conservation and help our struggling wildlife in a world that seems to only care about urban sprawl. I thought somehow my love for design and wildlife could come together at some point in the near future.
March 2022, I landed my current job working for SOS-UK on the Hedgehog Friendly Campus project, a national campaign dedicated to create positive change for hedgehogs and other wildlife at universities, colleges and primary schools!? I have loved hedgehogs for around 5 years, ever since I saved one curled up in the road in the middle of winter really. I named her Holly, who was taken to and cared for by the Holderness Hedgehog Hospital, who was then released into a hedgehog house in a lovely lady’s garden.
Pictured above: Holly in our care.
Pictured above: Holly in care at HHH.
Pictured below: Holly released back into the wild.
Since then, there have been so many hedgehogs that I've rescued and released again. Unfortunately, some didn't make it but sadly we can't save them all. Below are some more videos and pictures of hedgehogs I've saved over the years.
Pictured above: Marlon.
Pictured above: Bill
Pictured below: Trevor
Pictured below: Hogglepuff (we didn't have a box at hand, hence the huge blanket).
Pictured below: Millie
I have tons more pictures but we would be here for days trying to get through them all...
Most of my rescue hoggies have been released into our garden due to the places that they were found in. Instead of buying all brand new hedgehog houses, for some we have used wooden off-cuts and old plant pots as make-shift houses, which seemed to go down a treat! Hedgehogs currently inhabit all 4 of these!!
Why do I love hedgehogs so much? They are so innocent, just going about their business on a nightly basis. Every single one of them has a different character and are so charming in their own little way. Appearance wise, it has to be exposure of the their little teeth, their raccoon like faces and their tiny bear like ears!
Why am I excited about this job? To already have a passion for helping hedgehogs and it becoming part of your career is truly amazing. Not only do I get to be part of a national campaign that helps educate staff and students on how they can help hedgehogs, and recognise their own impacts on nature, I am part of a team that is so dedicated, which ultimately helps hedgehogs and other wildlife thrive. We are making a real difference for hedgehogs across the UK. What's ours, is theirs. The sooner people learn to co-exist and create hog friendly spaces, the better our connection to nature will be.
Thank you for reading!
Bethany, Project Officer at Hedgehog Friendly Campus x
