Good morning - I have a request that is a little tangential. But will, in turn, generate more signatures to this petition and with that more power to get what we need for hedgehogs.
On 13th October I am organising the Witney Hedgehog Day. Taking place between 12-5pm in the historic Corn Exchange, this is happening because the West Oxfordshire town is a hedgehog hotspot. It is also happening because the local council is very excited about hedgehogs and the Town Mayor, Duncan Enright, has gifted the use of the building to the cause. So the event is free - but there will be cake to buy!
The superficial aim is: fun, education and a sumptuous Great Hedgehog Bake-Off - there will be wildlife experts talking about what we can find in our gardens, there will be a chance to make pine cone hedgehogs - and there will be cake! But the underlying message is that we need to take more care about our hedgehogs. And a key way of doing that is to ensure that not only are our own gardens connected with hedgehog highways - but that all new build developments are as well. Oxfordshire is on the receiving end of many thousands of new homes in the next few years. If they need to be built, let them be built with wildlife in mind.
So - my request - PLEASE share this facebook event - please tell everyone you know who has an Oxfordshire connection about the day - by whatever means you have at your disposal - and if you able - come, and bring a hedgehog cake!!
Things are definitely on the move in the county - I was running a HedgeOX stall on Saturday and had a 15 minute conversation with my MP Anneliese Dodds - my politics are simple and Green - but she has impressed me each time we have met and I believe that when Government grows up and starts doing the business of governing again, she will be a strong ally in getting this petition turned into more than just 'guidance' - I want it to come with teeth.
I gave a talk to the Tackley Garden Club on Tuesday night and was impressed there how ready individuals were to now go and talk to/confront local developers about the issue of hedgehog highways ... this reminded me - we DO NOT NEED TO WAIT for government. We know what needs doing - so anyone who sees a development starting, go and talk to them ... we can do this!
And finally - on a lighter note - at an event recently I was delighted to hear this story from a man who had been woken earlier in the summer by a strange tapping and snuffling noise outside his (first floor!) bedroom door ... and there was a hedgehog! Not only that, but on further inspection, it had decided that the second floor of the house was more suitable for it toilet! Hedgehogs can climb - and if it is a hot night and you leave the back door open, you might get explorers in your home!
Do you think I mentioned CAKE enough times?