DESIGNING LANDSCAPES WITH HEDGEHOGS & OTHER WILDLIFE IN MIND

The Western European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) is one of the UK’s most familiar mammals. It is another species that is becoming increasingly vulnerable. As highlighted in recent work shared by the Suffolk & Essex National Landscapes team, hedgehogs are not just ''adorable creatures'', but rather a sensitive indicator species of landscape health. The reason for this is their abundance is a good indicator of access, permeability, and ecological continuity. They show us how well our landscapes function ecologically.

Their survival depends on a complex set of spatial requirements:

1. Extensive habitable areas

2. Connected habitats that allow nightly movement, foraging, nesting, and seasonal hibernation. A single male may travel up to 2 km in one night, and viable urban populations are estimated to traverse an area equivalent to approximately 142 football pitches.

Hedgehogs Teach Us About Landscape Structure

Hedgehogs are nocturnal, predominantly solitary creatures, and guided primarily by smell and hearing rather than sight. They are reliant on these two primary senses to seek out places rich in invertebrate life, soil biodiversity, shelter, and uninterrupted ground-level movement. These ecological requirements reveal aspects that need to be considered during the design process:

1. Permeability

Developments need to ensure that there are no obstructions caused by walls, fences, kerbs and sealed boundaries. Individual gardens need to allow for a consoldidated approach to movement networks for these and other small creatures. This should be planned by creating continuous ground-level routes through gardens, green corridors, and open space networks and avoiding impermeable edge conditions in masterplans.

2. Habitat as a Mosaic

It is important to maintain a shifting network of microhabitats for hedgehogs and other creatures including:

• Long grass and rough meadow for foraging

• Dense shrub layers and bramble for nesting

• Leaf litter, log piles, and unmanaged edges for habitat

Heterogeneity drives biodiversity while uniformity reduces ecological value.

3. The Foundation of Soil Health in Landscapes

Soil is not just a substrate—it is living ecological infrastructure. Healthy soils underpin ecological systems as it provides the basis for an abunance of earthworms, beetles and other invertebrates. They way to maintain ecological health is first and formost to protect the land from construction activities as far as possible. Utilising the existing topsoil and organic matter is paramount as this shows responsible stewardship of natural resources and resuces unnecessary project costs. Minimising soil compaction allows for the ingress of water and air into the soil profile, thereby facilitating microbial activity at varying soil depths. Eliminating pesticide and herbicide use which are generally regarded as harmful to humans, flora and fauna. Integrating soil health into maintenance regimes is a vital component to the establishment and ongoing success of any landscape project.

4. Landscape Connectivity

Ecological connections or movement corridors facilitate the movement of wildlife according to natural patterns. Constructive approaches in masterplanning requires the consideration of:

• Green infrastructure networks that extend beyond site boundaries

• Hedgerow restoration and the creation of a network of continuous linear landscape features

• The incorporation of Sustainable Drainage Systems and integration of river corridors, riparian zones, Public Open Spaces, road verges, public transport buffer strips and private gardens

• Safe crossing points and road permeability

These approaches align directly with landscape-scale thinking as contained in national strategies for nature recovery.

5. Risk Reduction in Ecological Design Approaches

Human activity is one of the greatest threats to wildlife.

To mitigate this risk, consider:

• Reducing and eliminating impacts on nesting periods

• Alternative or carefully managed horticultural maintenance activities such as mowing and strimming

• Managing bonfires and hazardous garden waste piles

• Reducing road collisions through driver awareness and traffic calming measures

• Design approaches to water features that provide escape routes

  
  

6. Night-Time Landscapes

Much of our wildlife is sensitive to artificial lighting and disturbance. Dark-sky sensitive design is therefore not merely aesthetic, but has ecological benefits that affect foraging behaviour, predator activities, and natural circadian rhythms.

A Systems Approach

One of the most important shifts in landscape architecture is recognising that wildlife conservation cannot be achieved at plot level alone. It requires a systems-based ecological network approach, where woodlands, scrub areas, river corridors, public open space, agricultural edges and private gardens function as a matric of continuous habitats.

This is where landscape architects play a critical role: translating ecological need into spatial form.

From small initiatives to large scale connected green corridors, all interventions accumulate into landscape-scale resilience.

The hedgehog is not just one species to protect. It serves as a measure as to how much our designed landscapes are alive, connected and functioning as ecosystems.