8 FEb 2023
Prep School members of the Environment Club install hedgehog house
Seaford has been awarded two environmental awards this year for eco-initiatives across the Prep, Senior and Sixth Form.
Prep School members of the Environment Club were treated to a talk all about hedgehogs this term and installed their own hedgehog house on the College grounds.
Old Seafordian Brett Bentley-Leek, who gave the talk and donated the hedgehog house, said that this much-loved mammal is under threat and needed greater protection.
“Hedgehogs appeared over 15 million years ago on our Island and have fascinated us for thousands of years,” he said. “They play at important role in the history and myth of our wildlife and countryside, depending mainly on insects for their survival. They are nocturnal and hibernate in the winter. As their habitat and food sources have been reduced in recent times, their numbers have critically declined. We should do all we can to help them survive.”
He added: “The Hedgehog is an important animal, especially in the garden, for controlling bugs and insects, and this negates the use of pesticides which is a clear advantage for eco-friendly gardeners in controlling unwanted insects.”
Julian Hart, Deputy Head of Prep School, runs the Environment Club and thanked Brett for the talk and donation of the house. “This subject fits perfectly with our eco work as we are looking at our ‘local environment’.”
Students are planning to monitor what happens in the hedgehog house over the coming weeks and months.
Seaford is truly an eco-school. In the Autumn Term, we were awarded the Eco-Schools UK Green Flag award (with Distinction) and won the Green Award for Environmental Achievement at the Independent Schools of the Year Awards.
