Talking hedgehogs

Stephen Powles is coming to the downland village of Leckhampstead to talk about hedgehogs and their habitat.

Stephen was raised in Africa with wildlife on his doorstep when his passion for animals and their habitats began.

He went on to train and work as a vet, until his retirement in 2019.

Stephen’s material has made a number of TV appearances, featured in the national press and won major awards. His photography concentrates on interesting and challenging wildlife subjects, many of which are in and close to his home. Stephen now spends his time educating everyone about the importance of animals great and small.

He will be coming to the village hall on March 4 to give his presentation All About Hedgehogs -

His talk is about hedgehogs in general and describes them, their lives and the threats they face. It also describes what we can do to help this declining but much-loved British mammal.

Critical to hedgehog conservation in urban environments is their ability to move through a wider landscape. Stephen will describe how you can make your garden hedgehog friendly. He will then show how his brother Chris inspired the villagers of Kirtlington to take an interest in their hedgehogs and how they went on to create a Hedgehog Superhighway of interconnected gardens.

Hedgehogs are in decline in Britain and are now listed as ‘Vulnerable’ on Britain's red list of mammals. According to the latest State of Britain's hedgehogs report, numbers of hedgehogs have fallen by up to 30 per cent in urban areas and 50 per cent in rural areas since the Millennium.

Did you know that up to 335,000 hedgehogs are estimated to die on British roads annually?

Other factors that are playing a part in Hedgehog decline is impermeable fencing and lack of connectivity through hedgerows can result in limited movement and isolated hedgehog populations. Plus the use of lawnmowers and strimmers which result in many thousands of injured little mammals every year.

Tickets are £5 (adult) and £10 (family). A hot drink and a pancake will be included in the price as this talk coincides with Shrove Tuesday.

https://tickets.myiknowchurch.co.uk/gb/NjE0Mi0zMA/t

Please book in advance as high numbers are expected from surrounding schools.

There will also be a limited number of activity packs available for children at the talk and every ticket bought will be instantly entered into the raffle. The prize - you guessed - will be hedgehog related.