In fact, it has become the only university in the UK to hold a bronze, silver and gold accreditation in the Hedgehog Friendly Campus Awards 2021-2022.
It follows years of hard work by staff and students – many of them volunteers – to turn the University into a hedgehog haven.
This year the team focused on creating hedgehog houses, wildflower meadows and hog highways between parts of the campus. They also built shelters out of log piles, made escape routes out of ponds and put together hedgehog first aid kits.
They continued to litter pick and raise awareness in the local community.
Together these made the campus more friendly to hedgehogs and also the things they eat, such as beetles and bugs.
Student volunteer Jenny Southall, an MSci Biology fourth year, said: “It’s been a fantastic opportunity to work with the University's gardens and grounds team and other students who are just as keen on protecting our hedgehogs. What's great about getting involved in the campaign is that you leave behind a legacy with the things you have built on campus.”
Katy Woolliscroft, a Zoology undergraduate and student volunteer, added: “I chose to do this because I love our local wildlife and want to help ensure its future.
“I hope to work in wildlife conservation and this has been a great place to start - I can’t wait to continue our work this year.”
According to the British Hedgehog Preservation Society, which administers the Hedgehog Friendly Campus Award, hedgehogs are now “vulnerable to extinction” in the UK.
Its ‘State of Britain’s Hedgehogs 2018’ found that the number of hedgehogs living in the UK countryside fell by half from 2000 to 2018. In brighter news, it also found that a similar rapid decline seen in urban areas may be levelling out.
In this year’s Campus Awards, the University of Bristol was given a Gold Award and also retained its Silver and Bronze Awards – becoming the only university to hold all three.
Jo Wilkinson, Programme Manager at Hedgehog Friendly Campus, said: “The University of Bristol is one of 13 universities across the UK to achieve #HFCGold in 2022.
“The team of staff and students has shown huge dedication and passion for helping hedgehogs and other wildlife through the Hedgehog Friendly Campus programme, which is funded and accredited by the British Hedgehog Preservation Society.
“We want to take this moment to thank all of the volunteers at the University who have taken part over the last three years, from litter picks to hedgehog surveys and even campaigning in the local community. With hedgehogs now vulnerable to extinction in Britain, your help is more important than ever.”
Bristol’s Hedgehog Champions come from across the University. Much of the work is carried out by the gardens and grounds teams but volunteers from the student and staff community are invaluable.
Simone Jacobs, Horticultural Supervisor at the University of Bristol, said: “Over the last three years the Hedgehog Friendly Campus Campaign has given us a wonderful opportunity to demonstrate best practice in ecological landscape management, as well as raise awareness of hedgehogs and their conservation status to our students and staff.”