Good morning - I hope that this new wave of lockdown is not being too stressful for you all. If you have any time on your hands then I have two suggestions:

If you are lucky enough to have a garden there is a temptation to ‘tidy’ at this time of year. Yesterday I spent time sweeping up leaves and was about to put them into the brown bin for composting when I remembered what I tell everyone else!!! Leave the leaves - they are so very vital for a flourishing garden. So I have recreated the leaf pile by the hedge/fence (totally porous for hedgehogs!)  The leaves can be, in themselves, a nest. But more likely they will be taken and used by a hedgehog as bedding for their hibernaculum. Additionally, as they rot, worms and other invertebrates step in to consume them - helping to create soil while at the same time presenting a hog with a snack. So - job one, don’t be so tidy!

And as that will leave you a little time … how about using it to help promote the petition. We are so close to a million - now, when we hit a million, nothing specific changes - BUT - we get a story and we get a whole heap more leverage in our attempts to get the change we need. To help - there is a new venture on the Hedgehog Highway Facebook group I set up - we are pulling together a document that will assist us all in our communications with the planning departments of Local Authorities around the country - because if we can get them to insist on Planning Conditions for Hedgehog Highways, then we might be able to ‘win’ without the help of central government. But it will require us all putting in some work!

And once you have done what you can do - I have some distractions : I have had the great fortune to work with Robin Ince on a few occasions - he got me doing my first ever stand up comedy (an utterly terrifying and ultimately exhilarating experience!) - and a couple of weeks ago, along with the fabulous Josie Long - I was interviewed for BookShambles … this was supposed to be about my new book - but went off on many tangents, so we talked about otter poo and feeding frozen peas to ducks and what to do with an edible dormouse that has fallen out of a tree. I hope you enjoy it - and do rummage through their other recordings. I am flattered to be in such good company.

If you are not fed up of my voice - then - here is an hour I spent talking about hedgehogs with the amazing Sharon Lashley from Climate Action North.

There is more! On Wednesday 11th - very soon - I am thrilled to be taking part in the first ever Hedgehog Question Time - organised by the Naturehood team at EarthWatch. It will be rather unlike BBC1 on a Thursday night - rather than hot air pouring from politicians - It will be myself, and Kirsty Crawford from The Conservation Volunteers, answering all your hedgehog related questions - so follow the link, log on and get your questions ready.

And finally … who else is worried about the carrots in the Aldi advert? If you have not seen it yet, have a look … obviously, the first attraction is the hedgehog … but they go to great lengths to personify the carrots … which are then clearly going to be eaten!! 

Keep well and keep spreading the word!