I wonder whether the talks I do on Friday and Saturday might be the last for a while? Already I have had paid work cancelled (which as a freelance hedgehog-botherer and occasional photographer, is quite worrying). 

If we are all encouraged to isolate ourselves this does not mean we need hold back on helping hedgehogs, though. In fact the extra time (if we remain fit enough) can be very well spent. And I have a few ideas for action - both online and in the real world.

If you are lucky enough to have a garden that already has hedgehog visitors, use this time to 'think hedgehog'. It might sound odd, but really get down to hedgehog level as best you can and start to snuffle around your patch ... look for the problems ... imagine where the hedgehog is likely to want to go.

The top ten tips from Hedgehog Street is a brilliant place to start. Look out for hazards - make sure drains are covered, ponds have ramps, netting is not trailing on the ground. Prepare a feeding station, build a log pile - and end the cult of tidiness!

Online - well - I would urge you to spend some time asking all your friends to sign this petition - as long as it keeps moving, developers and politicians will pay attention. If it becomes stagnant they will find it easier to ignore.

But this is not the only petition! In fact in the last couple of weeks there have been a slew of signature requests in an attempt to help hedgehogs. So why not have a look and see if they make you feel like taking action. 

The wonderful young girls from Hedgehog Friendly Town have started a petition calling for legislation on wildlife food. Currently anyone can sell anything and call it wildlife food.

Then there is the petition demanding an increase in the level of protection hedgehogs receive. I think it is worth prodding government to remind them that we care - what I am not sure is what mechanism is available to enforce it as yet. I fear that we may need to wait for all sorts of bills to be passed to get a better idea. What might be worth doing is writing to your local MP with the petition - asking them what ways there are to make sure hedgehogs are better protected.

This was tried a few years ago - and lead to one of the best speeches ever made in parliament (not just because it will probably be my only mention in the house ... 'eccentrics like Hugh Warwick'!) but because Rory Stewart showed a great deal of interest in the subject when he grilled me on it the day before! 

Finally - we might be in for a rough time in the weeks ahead and I think it would be lovely if we could keep an eye on our human neighbours as well as our hedgehog neighbours. One forum is the Facebook group - which has nearly 6,000 members - where I hope just checking in with your hedgehog friends will make us feel less alone - and maybe in the real world too ... while we snuffle around the garden, looking for ways of making their lives better!