You may remember that I was asking you all to 'vote hedgehog' in the call for ideas for the new bank notes ... well ... the VERY exciting news is that ... WE WON!!
Please pop over to this version
Alongside our hedgehog, there will also be the buff-tailed bumblebee, the barn owl, and the puffin.
I do feel it a bit much that we have two birds ... and no representation from amphibians and reptiles - though I suppose birds are just glammed up dinosaurs ... I had really hoped that the toad was going to make it alongside the hedgehog (yes, these are the two animals I have tattooed on my left leg!)
Nearly half a million people voted! I would love to see the data ... I have a sneaking suspicion that the hedgehog might well have come top. What do you think?
We are not going to be seeing these in circulation for a few years yet, there is a long process of design ahead - and we also do not know which note the hedgehog will appear on. I am hoping it is the ten pound note as I feel that is the one most in circulation now. Okay - over on the substack version - let's have your ideas! Here are mine:
£5 - bumblebee
£10 - hedgehog
£20 - barn owl
£50 - puffin
I am thrilled that we will be seeing the hedgehog on our banknotes - alongside other wildlife. Maybe it is the beginning of the realisation that it is impossible to have a functioning economy without a healthy ecosystem? (let me dream ... )
In other news ... I got an outing on BBC Radio 4 yesterday - on the PM programme, talking with the remarkable young conservationists Eva and Emily about the launch of Wild Pets - if you know any young people in Devon (all being well this will expand next year) who would like to get involved, follow that link. And here is the link to the radio piece ...
And just a quick plea - I am trying to grow my Instagram account - since Twitter vanished into a cesspool of nastiness, I have been starting to put more material on that platform - but it is slow work ... any help appreciated.