Hedgerows for Hedgehogs and Campus Biodiversity

Across society, organisations find themselves challenged to address the climate and nature emergencies. Universities have a complex set of responsibilities given that they are preparing students for an uncertain future in which the very survival of life is in the balance. A characteristic of this complex challenge is the need to develop the necessary ecological and vertical literacy required to tackle the many aspects of fragmentation we are subject to. The 30x30 biodiversity challenge provides universities with an opportunity to address one particular form of fragmentation, that affecting habitats. The case study presented here explores how a Hedgehog Friendly Campus (HFC) initiative allowed awareness of hedgehog habitat needs and in particular the health of hedgerows to feed into campus environmental management. A surprising finding is that addressing the fragmentation of hedgerows highlights organisational fragmentation, with little communication between landscape managers, research and teaching. A collaborative systems approach to the biodiversity challenge is thus needed and realising this will challenge universities to build their capacity to embrace research and learning for sustainability through living lab projects. This requires a recognition of the responsibility universities have to enable action learning across disciplines in ways that will connect staff and students to, and bring them into relation with, the biodiversity crisis at a local level. The HFC initiative provides a rich opportunity for communities of inquiry and practice to be nurtured and for this process to inform the evolution of our understanding of habitat restoration on university campuses as a corporate responsibility.