Following a recent successful trial at Lanark station where hedgehog holes were added to a boundary fence, the fencing renewal at Muirend was the first time that this approach has been rolled out as standard on a large scale.
Sam McIlvaney, Scheme Project Manager at Network Rail, says: “We are committed to minimizing our ecological and environmental impacts and something as simple as adding holes to fences will make a positive contribution to protecting these little creatures for future generations to love.”
Hedgehog-sized holes at regular intervals have been cut along the bottom of new close-boarded timber fencing to create ‘Hedgehog Highways’ which allow the animals to move safely between their foraging habitats and their nests.
The company hopes that over time, this will help reverse the current decline in hedgehog numbers so that they will again become a common sight in gardens and other urban green spaces and benefit the wider environment.
