Islanders asked to take part in hedgehog observation project
A NEW hedgehog project has been launched to engage islanders with wildlife during lockdown.
Guernsey-born Sarah Kirby launched the project as part of her research at the University of Bristol.
The Guernsey Hedgehog Project encourages islanders to take part in a study to learn more about Guernsey’s hedgehog population.
‘We are recruiting around 200 volunteers to do two evenings of hedgehog watching in their gardens and tell us what they see,’ Miss Kirby said.
‘All islanders have to do is put out a dish of meat-flavoured cat food and some water on two evenings then watch to see how many hedgehogs visit.’
The observations will be used to find out how many hedgehogs live in Guernsey and to make a map of their distribution.
Findings will be released at the end of August and used to write a paper which will be submitted to a scientific journal and presented at a UK mammal conference.
‘We hope this will show us if any areas might need further protection in the future and that it will help local people to learn more about the wildlife that can be found right in their back garden,’ she said.
Volunteers will be asked to do their hedgehog watching once in the first week of June and again one week later.
They should place the food in an area of their garden that they can safely watch from a distance such as in an open area that can be seen from their kitchen window or under a tree that can be seen from a comfortable spot.
Miss Kirby explained: ‘We want them to keep an eye on the food for at least one hour (though they may choose to keep an eye out for longer) and to leave the bowl out overnight so they can see in the morning if all the food has been eaten or if there is hedgehog faeces around.’
The sign-up function on the website will be open until round one of hedgehog watching begins and volunteers will be encouraged to submit their observations by the end of June via an online form, which will be available from 1 June.
n Watch our hedgehog at night video at https://youtu.be/p2PdfKRrTmE.
n Anyone who wants to find out more or to sign up by 1 June should visit www.hedgehog.gg or search for The Guernsey Hedgehog Project on Facebook.
Those who cannot access the internet can call 251556 for a volunteer pack.
