Amazing Grace needs you!
Hedgehog numbers all over the country are in steep decline. There were 35 million in the UK when your Granny was young – now we have less than 1 million left. By the time you grow up they could be gone from our gardens forever! We can’t let this happen!
You can help us to know where hedgehogs are so that we can help make things better for them and increase their numbers. We do this by doing surveys. You can make your own survey tunnel from an old cardboard box and help us to understand more.
Join our Army and help Grace !
Step 1
Find a suitable cardboard box. One that is 60-70cm long is ideal as everything fits in nicely.
Using cardboard is a great way to reuse and recycle, helping to save the Earth’s precious resources.
Step 2
Open your cardboard box at both ends.
Cut out the smallest side- this will form your removable base!
Step 3
Taping along your seams (folds) like this will give your tunnel a bit more stability.
Step 4
Fold your edges up to form your tunnel shape. You can secure it together using tape, string or even clothes pegs for ease!
Step 5
The Base Plate
Carefully trim all the way along the longest edge of the baseplate so that it fits neatly and easily into your new tunnel. You may need to trim 1 to 2cm off to allow this. Having a removable base makes it easier to reset your tunnel each morning as you can leave the tunnel in its place.
Step 6
Setting up your baseplate
Paperclip your sheets of A4 paper in position at both ends of your baseplate.
Add your food lid in the middle of the two sheets and secure it in place using masking tape.
Step 7 – Setting up your ink pads
Fill in the space between the food bowl and the paper at both sides with masking tape.
This will be where you put your ink.
Your animal will tread here while eating and leave footprints on the paper for you to identify as they leave the tunnel.
Step 8 – Putting your ink on the pads
Wearing gloves, add your ink to both ink pads. You can use a paintbrush for this if you find it easier.
Step 9 – Adding your bait to the tunnel
Add your chosen bait to the food lid. This can be any small kibble cat/dog/hedgehog specific food such as Spikes. Remember hedgehogs only have little mouths! This food can be changed daily, when you reset the tunnel.
Step 10 – Placing your tunnel
Your loaded tunnel should be placed out late afternoon in your garden, before dark.
It should be placed along a fence or wall ideally as hedgehogs are really ‘edgehogs and travel along straight lines. They like edges of gardens best.
Remember your tunnel isn’t waterproof, so choose a dry evening to have your first survey. Putting your tunnel under some sort of cover e.g. under bushes will keep it hidden and protect it from the worst of the weather.
Revisit your tunnel in the morning and be a detective to see who visited overnight!
Step 11
Detective work!
This is what hedgehog prints look like! If you don’t find any footprints, try again for the next 4 nights. If you still don’t find any, try again in 4 weeks as your prickly friends could still be hibernating! You can repeat this as often as you like, maybe try Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter?
Why not try in several places in your front and back gardens? Remember that hedgehogs will need a way into your garden in order to access your tunnel. This could be a gap under fences or gates.
Talk to your grown up about how to do this.
Can you guess whose foot prints these are?
Answers: 1. Cat, 2. Mouse, 3. Toad, 4. Hedgehog
