Water for wildlife

Water for wildlife is a vital life saver in this spell of hot weather.

There are reports coming in from all around the country of mummy and baby hedgehogs suffering from severe dehydration.

Please leave several shallow bowls of water around the garden and make sure they are topped up every day. If you don’t have a garden, you can still leave bowls of water out on the pavement edge. Also have a think about whether you could create a watering point at any local parks or green spaces.

Your water bowl doesn’t have to be fancy. I love to use terracotta plant pot bases, which are only a couple of pounds. Make sure it is fairly shallow or young hedgehogs will not be able to drink or may even drown.

This video shows how much just one single hedgehog needs to drink!

Water bowls also prevent hedgehogs venturing into and drowning in ponds.

If you fancy a stylish water bowl for your wildlife garden, I love these mosaic bowls by Josara Design, another Yorkshire maker. They come in a wide range of wildlife inspired designs.

I run a hedgehog hospital in York, England. I am also a keen wildlife gardener. My work is entirely self funded and I make handmade silver jewellery to raise funds to continue my work. If you have found this information useful, please consider making a donation or purchasing some handmade wildlife jewellery at www.littlesilverhedgehog.etsy.com 

If you’d like to find out more about how to help hedgehogs and create a wildlife friendly garden, why not join me on a hedgehog talk and wildlife garden night safari.