Wivey Grows assessment and report

How to build your own wormery and coax wild worms! - with Neil

What is it like to be a Wivey Grower?

Why do we need to think about food? - Our sowing and growing plan

Coppicing Update with Richard Adams

Our Wivey Grows highlights for the year

Winter Sowing with Jayne Cowling

Wine Making with Carol and Adrian

Coppicing at Wivey Grows

The Wivey Grows Radio Show - new collaboration with 10Radio

As with many of our events, the hedgehog safari event was well attended by both adults and children.

Rich (Adams) had been working hard to cut out the pattern of Hedgehog boxes, so our first task was to assemble them. This was two sides and a back, with a curved entry for the hedgehog on front panels before we had to put in a small interior wall for drafts. After the roof was fitted, we then painted them with water-based fencing paint. By the time we had done this we had a well-deserved cup of tea.

Santi and her son Nathan arrived from the Spiky Shire Hedgehog Rescue Centre and gave a very informative talk on Hedgehog behaviour as well as advice on feeding and what not to feed the hedgehogs. Emphasising that some garden items are particularly harmful to hedgehogs such as netting for ponds. It is also vital to be very careful when building fires, moving compost piles and using cutting machines, a hedgehog's life might be in danger and they are now on the red list of endangered wildlife. Santi and Nathan told us that interestingly, the life expectancy of these little creatures can be as long as 4 to 5 years, but sadly they are decreasing in number.

They told us how to build a feeding station out of a large plastic container and also what we should put inside the hedgehog houses that we had built. Santi then had a treat for young and old alike and brought out a mobile incubator which held three 11-day old hedgehogs that had been orphaned, bringing them out and feeding them with a syringe of special milk. We presented her with a bouquet of flowers and a box of selected veg that we had harvested, donations to the hedgehog centre were also given by attending people as she is self-funded, and the special milk alone is very expensive.

(Please if anyone has more donations for the Spiky Shire Hedgehog Rescue please contact us, it will be gratefully received. This year due to the heat and dryness, they are inundated with sick, injured and orphaned Hedgehogs, therefore donations that go towards supporting the centre are as important as ever.)

The Blog