Hedgehog Friendly Campus

Published by the People's Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) and The British Hedgehog Preservation Society (BHPS), the State of Britain's Hedgehogs 2022 report shows that numbers of hedgehogs have fallen by up to 30% in urban areas and 50% in rural areas since the year 2000. In 2020, the British Hedgehog was declared vulnerable to extinction and listed on the IUCN Red List for Britain's Mammals.

NTU committed to making further improvements across the estate to help the UK’s Hedgehog population as part of the Hedgehog Friendly Campus initiative in 2020. In 2021, NTU achieved Bronze Award from ‘Hedgehog Friendly Campus’, in 2022 we achieved Silver Award and in 2023 we achieved Gold Award for Brackenhurst, Clifton, and City Campus.

From April 2023 NTU will be working towards Platinum accreditation. If you’d like to become an NTU Hedgehog Ambassador, please email the Sustainability Team.

Our work towards achieving a Hedgehog Friendly Campus has included:

• Hedgehog surveys at all three campuses.
• Allowing areas of campus green space to ‘rewild,’ helping to support hedgehogs and other local biodiversity.
• Undertaking pond audits across the estate; adding stepping stones to ponds with steep sides to help wildlife.
• Introducing log piles to our City campus for the first time and adding to those at Clifton and Brackenhurst.
• Installing a hedgehog crossing sign at Brackenhurst.
• Presenting our work to other universities and local primary schools, as well as mentoring St Peter’s Junior School in Ruddington who achieved Silver Award in February 2023.
• NTU's Landscaping Services Team attending Hedgehog Ecology and Management training to learn more about hedgehog-friendly landscaping practices.