Aston University becomes hedgehog-friendly campus

Aston University’s campus has been awarded Hedgehog Friendly Campus status by the British Hedgehog Preservation Society.

Hedgehog Friendly Campus is a UK-wide award scheme which supports teams of staff and students to apply hedgehog-friendly actions in and around their university, college or school.

The award for Aston University marks the culmination of months of hard work and joint effort between the University’s environmental and sustainability team and its students’ union to ensure that its 60-acre campus just a few minutes’ walk away from Birmingham city centre is as friendly as possible for hedgehogs, which are now considered endangered in the UK, and other small animals.

This included establishing a work group with staff and students to coordinate activities, running awareness campaigns, setting up a donation pot for biodiversity projects, litter picking with staff and students and raising awareness of small animal welfare with grounds-keeping staff.

Amanpreet Sidhu, Go Green champion at Aston Students’ Union, said:

“This accreditation recognises the efforts our community has made to enable hedgehogs to thrive on campus. We are very proud of the work we have done to improve the biodiversity of our outdoor spaces.”

Vitor Furlong, environment and sustainability manager at Aston University, said:

“Aston University has a very strong commitment to embedding sustainability into all aspects of our operations and community. Activities like these are of extreme importance to preserve the biodiversity of our campus, and I am delighted that we have achieved Hedgehog Friendly status. This is testimony to the hard work by staff and students to make the natural habitats on site more wildlife-friendly.”