Hedgehog Awareness Week is organised by the British Hedgehog Preservation Society and takes place every year. It aims to highlight the problems hedgehogs face and how you can help them, lots of tips to make sure our prickly friends stay safe can be found on the Society's website.

This year efforts are focused on gardeners - there is so much that gardeners can do to help the hedgehog.

We have set up a list of 10 things we would like gardeners to remember when out in their gardens:

1. Ensuring there is access into the garden for hedgehogs (all that is needed is 5" square gap)
2. Checking areas before strimming or mowing
3. Move piles of rubbish/brushwood etc to a new site before burning it to ensure no hedgehogs are inside
4. Ensuring fruit netting or sports netting is kept at a safe height - either lifted off the ground or with boards round the base to stop hedgehogs from becoming entangled
5. Checking compost heaps before digging with a fork
6. Stopping or reduce the amount of pesticides and poisons used, try some of the alternatives, like copper tape on flower pots or fine powered ash around flower borders to stop slugs
7. Cover drains or deep holes around your house and garden to stop hedgehogs getting stuck
8. Ensuring there is an easy route out of ponds and pools using some form of mesh which they can climb up and out of if necessary
9. Check sheds and garages and ensure any chemicals or liquids are stored safely and not left in open cat litter trays where hedgehogs and other animals can come into contact with
10. Support your local wildlife rescue so that if you find a poorly hedgehog you know what to do

Hedgehog Awareness Week runs from 5th to 11th May 2013 and hedgehog events are being organised all around the country! Sadly due to illness we have not been able to run our event this week. However this week sees us either releasing or move out of the hospital the last of our over wintered hedgehogs, of which we have had 120 this winter and at up to £150 per hedgehogs we have looked at a bill of over £15,000 this past winter.

As part of Ark Wildlife's Charity Partner scheme and to highlight National Hedgehog Awareness Week, they are donating £2,500.00 of Hedgehog food to the hedgehog carers you nominate as heroes. All you need to do is simply 'Like' their Facebook page, then look up the question 'Vote for your Hedgehog Hero' where you can click to vote for a hedgehog carer or rescue centre (or add them if they're not there already). Ark Wildlife will then send them a free 1kg of Ark Hedgehog Food Original for every vote (i.e. 100 votes = 100kg free food). They also have a giveaway of £250.00 of food and accessories for the winner and runner up with the most nominations. You can find out more on their website.

We need to help look after our wild hedgehogs so please support East Sussex WRAS. Every year we take in and look after over 600 hedgehogs with the aim of treating them and returning them to the wild where they belong.

Happy Hedgehog Awareness Week!

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Press Contact: Trevor Weeks MBE (East Sussex WRAS) - 01825 873003 or 07931 523958

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