RESIDENTS Stewart Milne Homes’ Brackenhill Park development in Hamilton are playing their role in protecting local hedgehogs this winter.
In a partnership between the housebuilder and The Conservation Volunteers (TCV), the Brackenhill Park community have installed hedgehog homes in communal areas across the development to ensure the native species has a safe place to sleep, nest and hibernate.
TCV and Stewart Milne Homes representatives helped to install the hedgehog homes at the Brackenhill Park development in the first roll-out of the initiative by the housebuilder, with plans to replicate the scheme across a variety of its Scottish developments in 2023.
Stewart Milne Homes has also donated £2,000 to TCV to help them progress the Hogwatch Scotland Citizen Science project, which runs in partnership with the British Hedgehog Preservation Society until July 2023 to monitor hedgehog populations and create suitable habitats. Through a range of educational activities and community initiatives, TCV aims to understand more about the declining species in Scotland.
Alex Paterson, senior project officer at TCV, said, “Sadly, hedgehog numbers have declined rapidly in recent years. This is partly because of habitat loss and we are working hard to educate people across the country about the importance of creating suitable spaces for hedgehogs, as well as suggesting other hedgehog friendly actions people can do in their gardens and local communities.
“The support from Stewart Milne Homes will enable us to take our mission to new communities within Scotland and we’re looking forward to continuing our partnership with their team as we aim to raise awareness about and help protect our prickly friends.”
Tony Williamson, sales and marketing director at Stewart Milne Homes, added, “Stewart Milne Homes is proud to create people-shaped places, and now we can say that we also deliver hedgehog-shaped places – it’s brilliant. Our ethos is rooted in creating welcoming and sustainable communities, and protecting wildlife plays a significant role in this.
“We’re really excited to kick-off our partnership with TCV and it is brilliant to learn more about how they are helping to both educate communities and create positive change. We plan to include hedgehog friendly measures in more Stewart Milne Homes developments in both our North and Central regions.”
