The delighted surprise at reaching the half million mark with this petition has been exceeded - my local MP, Anneliese Dodds, has passed on a message saying that Kit Malthouse, the very person to whom we direct these signatures, is minded to meet and talk about the way we can help hedgehogs.

That is down to you. Thank you.

As wonderful as this is, and if we do manage to get planning law changed and hedgehogs-holes in all new developments, it is still not enough. We need to also sort out the walls that are already in place. And this is where Hedgehog Heroes are needed!

Not everyone is able to make holes - not everyone can reach out to their neighbours and talk to them - there are lots of very good reasons. But in every community I have ever been to there are a few people who are 'doers' - people who have time, energy and skills to get things done. I have met a few. Chris Powles - from the Kirtlington Wildlife and Conservation Society - for example (he will deny his specialness - but I know the truth). Along with KWACS he got the Oxfordshire village mapped out and then they set about making holes.

And then there is Michel Birkenwald from Barnes - who has been helping people get holes in there fences and walls with great success. And the amazing girls who run Hedgehog Friendly Town. 

I am sure there are many others - perhaps you could share - name the heroes in the comments bellow.

All of this is guided by the principles we developed in the Hedgehog Street campaign - and there are many wonderful resources available on their website.

So - could you be a Hedgehog Hero? I have started to look in my county of Oxfordshire - I have set up a small campaign called HedgeOX. But it would be also great to find people further afield as well - could you take a look at where you live and see a vision of a more hedgehog friendly version? If so - drop me a line through the HedgeOX website - (I try and respond to messages on here, but not sure you ever get to see that I have ... as I tend not to get any follow up!)

Connectivity is key for hedgehogs - and it is also key for us too - working together we can achieve so much more than just on our own.