So here it is - the turn of another year - and I still have not managed to get a meeting with a Secretary of State about getting hedgehog highways as a compulsory component of all new housing developments ... but ... other stuff has been happening ... and with your support, it will continue to happen! 

We have the developers Bovis, Linden, and Taylor Wimpey committed to building highways where they can - and a number of smaller developers too. This is majorly good news. And as you may well be aware, this is also only the first step ... while we might not be able to win hedgehogs the level of official protection I believe they deserve through the Wildlife and Countryside Act - we might be able to get them treated as if they were so protected by playing on the good will of the developers who have already taken one step towards the light! 

The Hedgehog Highways Facebook group continues to be a good and safe space in which to share ideas, ask questions and post photos - if you use Facebook, do have a look at the group, you might find some kindred spirits!

The work of the Hedgehog Street campaign, the collaboration between the British Hedgehog Preservation Society and the People's Trust for Endangered Species - continues apace - not only are we funding research projects but also use our collective weight to push the hogs further up the news agenda. 

Now for some reflection on the work of others - first, a moment to recognise the amazing achievements of a little known guitarist who played with an unheard of band called ... Queen ... but it took a King to offer him a Knighthood! I am ambivalent about the honours system - but then I see someone like Brian May, sorry, Sir Brian May, getting attention and I am all in favour of it! His music, for many, including me, has been a regular fixture in our lives - but it has been with his work campaigning for wildlife that he has really shone - and it is in large part for that this honour is given. Here is one of his projects - Save Me Trust.

Another aware has been given to the young nature writer and campaigner, Dara McAnulty, it is so well deserved. 

Other campaigns - a victory, or at least another step on the way, for Wild Justice as they use a government petition to get a debate in parliament about the shooting of the beautiful bird, the Woodcock. Another government petition that I plead with you to sign - that launched by Hannah Bourne Taylor calling for Swift Bricks to be a standard in all new developments. She has been very open in acknowledging the work we have done as being an encouragement to use this sort of campaign. Please sign here. 

What next for the new year? Well, an important moment will be the Walk for Wildlife - the date has not been set in stone yet, but keep the 1st April free in your diary if you want to join in a powerful display of love for nature. 

Perhaps the most important thing we should be thinking of next year is making a resolution for a revolution! No, I am not calling for a violent insurrection. But a revolution in thought and word. The combination of existential environmental threats, services collapsing, and a cost of living crisis - while we have a government that seems hell bent on enriching the rich and impoverishing the poor - can arouse anger - in fact it should arouse anger. But I worry that if we do not take a moment to consider how we express that rage, we end up furthering division, increasing divides - and being distracted from the main cause. I am often reminded of the cartoon where a banker, a worker, and an immigrant are sitting at a table with 20 cookies - The banker takes 19 cookies and warns the worker: “Watch out, the immigrant is going to take your cookie away.”

Damn - not the cheery way I was hoping to send this update out into the new year ... but despite all that I do have moments of hope - when I hear about Brian May and Dara McAnulty - when I see Hannah Bourne Taylor showing that 'passion is a super power' (interestingly she was accused, in the House of Commons, of being too passionate ... what nonsense!) - and when I get time to read books by people who care ... there is hope - there are good people out there - we just need to make sure that we find good ways of sharing the love we have for nature!