Hedgehog Highways

A Horsham Town resident, Alison Wilkins, has started a project in her neighbourhood to provide hedgehog highways in her locality and is keen on expanding the area of this endeavour. Please read all about it here.

As you can see from her words, she is very keen to take this forward and would be very grateful for any support or advice that anyone could offer. Contact us if you can help.

Create a Hedgehog Highway!

Since 2000 hedgehog numbers in rural areas have plummeted by as much as 75%. These charming little creatures are in trouble and they need our help. Hedgehogs can travel up to a mile each night in search of food, mates, and shelter. But garden fences and walls are turning their nightly journeys into obstacle courses.

How You Can Help:

Cut a 13cm x 13cm hole in your fence, gate, or wall – just big enough for a hedgehog, but too small for most pets.
Encourage your neighbours to do the same to create a connected network of gardens – a true Hedgehog Highway!
Once your hog hole is ready, log it on the https://bighedgehogmap.org/ so conservationists can track safe routes.

Not only will you be giving hedgehogs a fighting chance, but you might also be rewarded with the magical sight of one snuffling through your garden at dusk. And as a bonus for gardeners – hedgehogs love to munch on slugs and other pests! Every hole can make a world of difference.

Wild Denne

The climate crisis is now urgent, as stressed by the UN’s recent report. Climate change and the state of nature resulting from human activities are intrinsically linked, and steps to avoid the calamity that faces our planet are not just the responsibility of governments, but of all of us.

Britain’s wildlife is under severe pressure, but we have an amazing array of species, some of which have their last strongholds on these islands.

Wild Denne, organised by Horsham Denne Neighbourhood Council, is part of the Wilder Horsham District project, set up by Horsham District Council and Sussex Wildlife Trust. The first aim is to establish wildflower meadows within the HDNC area. Our Neighbourhood has many open spaces which could be used to both increase the quality and beauty of the local area, and restore habitat for butterflies, bees and other vital pollinators.

Shandy’s Brook

A small independent project has been running for two and a half years in the neighbourhood with great success. Not only has the number and range of plant and animal species grown dramatically, but littering has declined to zero, and the site has become very popular with nearby residents and other members of the public, some of whom have been inspired to recreate similar re-wilding projects in their own gardens.

Shandy’s Brook – Before

Shandy’s Brook – After

HDNC is also involved with Horsham Green Spaces to link green areas together and create green corridors to become pollinator flyways. Anyone with a garden, balcony or window box can help.

We currently have a proposal to improve the biodiversity of the Needles Recreation area while maintaining its recreational facilities.

If you are interested in taking part and would like to know more, please email: denneneighbourhoodclerk@gmail.com

Wild Denne Update March 2024

As I am sure you have noticed, this winter has been exceptionally mild and exceptionally wet. This is really holding things back. In particular, there has been an explosion in the slug population and these animals have come out much earlier than usual. This has been responsible for the poor performance of daffodils and primroses, which many of us have observed around the Town and the District. Let’s hope for better to come as the year goes on!

The Wildways project (the work of Horsham Green Spaces Forum, Friends of Horsham Park and other Groups), which aims to provide corridors for wildlife and pollinators through the Town, and tying in with the Weald to Waves and Wilder Horsham District projects, is moving forward apace. Wild Denne is continuing to make its contribution on behalf of the residents of our neighbourhood. Horsham District Council have been very positive and active in this, and the first stage, the changing of the mowing regime to meadow management on selected parcels of land is about to get underway.

Initially the number of sites where some meadow management will be undertaken is 27 in the District and Town so far, 10 of which are in Denne, plus Horsham Park and Tanbridge Park, which are to be treated under separate schemes. Sample signage for these sites has already been produced and plans for contractors to follow have been drawn up. HDC emphasises this is just the beginning, and hope that the idea will prove popular and can be expanded if successful. These revised plans come into play soon and the scheme will run initially for three years, at the end of which results will be assessed and further plans made if the idea proves successful.

We, as the Wild Denne group, can contribute to this review of how successful the scheme is in our area. We can track how successful the project is in terms of habitat restoration and increase in species numbers and varieties. This will not require any scientific knowledge or expertise, but simple observations that will help HDC build up a picture of how well the project is going. So why not take part. When you are out and about, walking the dog, taking exercise or just walking to the shops, keep an eye out for wildlife. It would be a fun occupation for kids, and you can bet they already have an app on their phones for identifying plants, flowers animals fungi etc. Make a note of:

What you have seen. It doesn’t matter if you can’t identify it precisely, but take a photo if you have your phone handy. Please let us know where you saw it, when you saw it (time and date), then e-mail this information to us at denneneighbourhoodclerk@gmail.com so we can collate your findings and pass them on to HDC to aid the assessment.

Please note that all information sent will be treated in confidence and your details will not be recorded or used by us, HDC or anyone else.

In other news, the County Council has obtained grant money under the Government’s nature restoration plans for the improvement of verges for wildlife so that they can act as corridors for animals and most importantly pollinators. WSCC has chosen Horsham as the place to start! It is still very early days, but watch this space!

For further information please see:

https://www.horsham.gov.uk/climate-andenvironment/wilderhorshamdistrict/wildwaysproject/wildways-on-hdc-land

Wild Denne update 11/12/23

Four seasons at Shandy’s Brook:

As can be seen from the photographs below, Shandy’s Brook is now becoming established. This is an independent project started by a member of HDNC and their friend more than three years ago. Initially they encountered scepticism from local residents and users of the footpath that runs alongside the site. This same group of people are now very enthusiastic and supportive of what has been achieved and they constantly receive praise not just for their work, but in respect of how pleasing the wildflowers, butterflies and bees are to them and how their numbers and variety have greatly increased there and in neighbouring gardens. For the first few months they spent hours cleaning up litter and removing many bags of it. In the last couple of years littering has reduced to almost zero. They have received offers of help from locals regarding the removal of arisings and people have requested seeds in order to sow wildflowers in their own gardens. They keep the path clean and free from overhanging brambles and also clear the culvert grille, and this received the approval of an Environment Agency Officer doing a routine inspection of Horsham waterways.

Shandy’s Brook is only a small site of approximately 250 sq m, but its blossoming has demonstrated that beautiful results can be achieved even in the smallest areas, such as the corner of a garden or a segment of verge. The site has become a signpost to what Horsham Denne Neighbourhood Council’s Wild Denne project is aiming to achieve elsewhere in the Neighbourhood.

Spring