Devon events form part of national action. Wild About Gardens Week is urging gardeners to save hedgehogs.

Twiggy, Ben Fogle, Bill Oddie and Chris Beardshaw are backing Wild About Gardens Week this Autumn and urging gardeners to save hedgehogs. The annual celebration of garden wildlife hosted by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) and The Wildlife Trusts has joined forces with Hedgehog Street this year to highlight what gardeners can do to help this much-loved yet fast-declining species. See wildaboutgardensweek.org.uk for inspiration, competitions, events and booklet.

High profile supporters of Wild About Gardens Week explain how we can all help:

Ben Fogle, Patron, British Hedgehog Preservation Society (BHPS), says: "Everybody loves hedgehogs! It's a tragedy that they are disappearing so quickly particularly when it's so easy to help them. We can all have a go at planting a native hedge, creating gaps in fences for them to pass through, leaving leaf or log piles and allowing parts of the garden to grow wild to give them a home."

Chris Beardshaw, RHS Ambassador for Community Gardening and patron of BHPS, says: "As gardeners, we often forget that the garden is a refuge for our smaller visitors, many of whom have directed and influenced our appreciation of the outdoor environment. Thanks to starring roles in children's poetry and prose, the likes of bats, owls and squirrels have all played a part, not just in opening our eyes to our gardens and landscape, but as a major connection to our childhood. "Some of these distinctive creatures are in decline, in particular the hedgehog - a curiously shy creature which asks very little of gardeners. In fact they even allow us to be a little untidy as they use the leaves and logs for habitat and in return they will munch happily on the molluscs ravaging our favoured plants. When we are tending our gardens please give some thought for the residents and visitors who can benefit from our green spaces and reward us in so many ways."

Bill Oddie, The Wildlife Trusts' Vice President, says: "I can honestly say that I have not come across a wild hedgehog anywhere - whether in the woods or countryside or garden or my garden - for something like three or four years. That is really sad because, let's face it, they're one of these little creatures which everyone knows - Mrs Tiggywinkle. It's an animal that everybody loves. Nobody's frightened of them. "Hedgehogs do a fantastic job in your garden munching up worms in particular, the odd slug occasionally and, I dare say, they've been known to crunch open a few snails. Basically the hedgehog is the gardener's friend. There's no two ways about that. But not just that they are a delightful addition to your garden fauna -the birds, the animals, the insects - the hedgehogs, they belong there. We need them. They should be part of it. But if you are lucky enough to have them, you've got to make it possible for them to get in and to get out. Think of it as the hedgehog door - to food, to adventure and the way back home."

Twiggy, Patron of the British Hedgehog Preservation Society, says: "Seeing hedgehogs in our garden when I was a child was a magical experience. Now we all need to help these special mammals - and there's so much that gardeners can do to reverse their decline. You can cut a small hedgehog hole at the bottom of your garden fence, leave wild nesting and hibernation areas, ditch the slug pellets and check that bonfire before striking the match! All so easy to do. Please help these wonderful creatures."

Hedgehogs are in trouble - research by People's Trust for Endangered Species shows that hedgehogs have declined by 30% in the last 10 years alone and there are now thought to be fewer than one million left in the UK. To help encourage people across Britain to think about how to make their gardens, schools and community spaces hedgehog-friendly, this year's Wild About Gardens Week will be a call to action and a celebration of the humble hedgehog, packed with events, competitions and opportunities to get stuck in. This will include:

• A national call to action to create hedgehog holes in fences - a handy 13cm by 13cm template can be downloaded from the Wild About Gardens Week website.
• A competition to design the best hedgehog home. There will be three categories: individual, group and school. The prizes will range from a trail camera to a visit from a hedgehog expert. Closing date: Monday 9 November 2015.
• A host of hedgehog-themed events around the UK, from talks and workshops to community activities. At RHS Garden Harlow Carr, a new garden will be launched in participation with Hedgehog Street, showcasing hedgehog friendly planting and design. Add your event or search for those happening near you at: www.wildaboutgardensweek.org.uk/events
• A downloadable new booklet, available from the Wild About Gardens Week website, will demonstrate steps you can take to help hedgehogs in your garden. 
• A twitter Q & A about hedgehogs using #wildgardensQA on Wednesday 28th October between midday and 1pm. All information at: www.wildaboutgardensweek.org.uk

Devon Wildlife Trust will be celebrating Wild About Gardens week with a Wild About Hedgehogs day on Thursday 29 October at its Cricklepit Mill, close to Exeter's historic quayside. The event is free and takes place between 11am and 3pm. DWT's Jasmine Atkinson is organising the day and said: "This is a chance to join us for hedgehog-themed activities and crafts! We'll also be letting people know how to make their garden more hog-friendly with games and advice."

On Friday 30 October Devon Wildlife Trust's Cricklepit Mill opens its gates again for another seasonal event. This time The Trust is staging its own Wild Halloween with a spooky trail, a chance to create some creepy crafts and make potions in the mill's garden. This event takes place between 11am and 4pm and is free.

Hedgehog - Photo copyright Tom Marshall (All Rights Reserved)

Wild About Gardens Week: Monday 26 October to Sunday 1 November 2015