We were delighted to welcome Yvonne from Hedgehog Rescue to our meeting last night. Her rescue centre looked after an astonishing 392 hedgehogs last year and was able to release many of them back into the wild. Emersons Green still has a decent number. Here are a few sampling food in one of our gardens where hedgehogs have been present since 2013.

I was aware of things we could do to help like making holes in our fences and avoiding slug pellets and rat poison, but I was shocked by the dreadful impact that litter has on these creatures. They get tangled in plastic netting, get feet caught in ring pulls, get their heads stuck in disposable drink cups. Yvonne has seen it all.

Yet there is so much that we can do to make our gardens good for them. We can build houses and feeding stations. We can keep our dogs on lead at night, especially terrier type dogs. We can have wild areas to our garden, piles of leaves and logs or a pond, as long as it has a beach so they can get out.

We hope to welcome friends from Hedgehog Rescue to our Festival of Nature this year which is planned for Saturday May 23rd where we can ask our questions and we will have a map so we can mark on where all the known hedgehogs are in the area.

We have also agreed to start a What’s App group so that we can share news of wildlife in Emersons Green. This is not just about hedgehogs but anything interesting we spot, like foxes, badgers, birds, trees, flowers etc. Anything wild that you enjoy, let the group know. What’s app is particularly good for sending photos. If you would like to join this group, let me know your mobile phone number somehow – perhaps by placing a comment on this site (I moderate comments and will make sure it is not published) or, if you prefer, by note through the door at  50 Guest Ave.

Two other things of interest.

If you are interested in apple trees, you may like to learn how to make your own! I am planning to do some apple tree grafting at 2pm on Thursday Feb 27th at 50 Guest Ave. If you would like to join me and learn how to do it, you are very welcome. Please let me know you are coming.

Finally our management committee for Friends of Emersons Green Park is meeting on Feb 24th at 7.30pm. If you have any concerns or suggestions about anything concerning the park please let us know.

That’s all for now,  don’t get blown away in the storms!