How Salford University is working to become a gold-certified hedgehog friendly campus

The University of Salford is working to achieve a gold accreditation for being a hedgehog friendly campus.

Achieving the accreditation means the University of Salford will be highly recognised in the work they have done in creating a haven for hedgehogs around the campus and in surrounding areas.

The University of Salford joined the Hedgehog Friendly Campus Campaign in 2020 and achieved their silver award at the beginning of this year.

To achieve the gold accreditation, the University of Salford must accomplish five actions from the Hedgehog Friendly Campus toolkit.

The main action the university are working on is hosting weekly litter picks to create safer spaces for wildlife around Peel Park campus.

Marta Strzelecka, the Environmental Management Coordinator at the university, said: “We have so much green space it just makes sense to make sure it’s clean and safe for animals to live on it.”

The Hedgehog Friendly Campus campaign is an initiative across the UK which aims at creating safe spaces for hedgehogs across different campuses.

Mr Strzelecka followed: “We’re also doing hedgehog surveys [counting hedgehogs in the local areas], hedgehog hazard audits, creating a campaign video and fundraising and awareness raising events.”

Marta and the environmental sustainability team are passionate about turning the campus into a place where hedgehogs can thrive.

She added: “We believe it is important to make our campus safe for wildlife to hibernate and thrive.

“It’s a really fun project where we get to tick off the actions and gain certificates but at the heart it is a serious issue to care for wildlife and biodiversity.”