Projects
Furzedown Hedgehog Highways
Hogwatch are collaborating with Furzedown Hedgehogs to monitor hedgehog activity and the impact of hedgehog highways in Tooting. Our research has identified the importance of garden habitats for hedgehog populations in urban areas, highlighting habitat fragmentation as a major threat to hedgehogs in London.
Hedgehog highway schemes aid in reducing this pressure by building a network of gardens, making green spaces more accessible for hedgehog populations. This study aims to explore the effectiveness of these schemes in improving habitat connectivity. Furzedown will act as an important case study to guide national-scale conservation action.
How can you help?
Fill out our questionnaire
We are conducting a citizen science survey from Furzedown residents to gather information on the accessibility of gardens in the neighbourhood. We encourage every household in Furzedown to fill this in to get an accurate picture of current hedgehog accessibility in the area.
The questionnaire will be live on the 19th August 2026.
Host a camera in your garden
Furzedown Hedgehogs began creating hedgehog highways in 2026, with the local community showing great initiative toward improving wildlife connectivity. London HogWatch wants to monitor this population to understand the impact on hedgehogs. By signing up, you will be contributing to nationally important research on the effectiveness of hedgehog highways. The two ways to get involved are outlined below. To sign up or for any queries, contact us using the link at the bottom of this page!
We are planning a full-scale survey of Furzedown now and again in 2 years time. We are looking for volunteers to host a camera trap, and these will be deployed on 2nd September 2026.
Eligibility:
If your garden is within 30m of any blue points on the map below.
You are happy to host a camera for 4 weeks (no hedgehog highway needed)!
If you currently don’t have hedgehog access and are also interested in having a hedgehog highway, there is an opportunity to install one after the 4-week survey period. This could then include 4 weeks of extra monitoring after installation.
If your garden falls outside of the points on this map, you could still get involved! See 2 for details.
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We will also be carrying out camera monitoring of gardens 3-4 weeks before and after a hedgehog highway is installed to assess how hedgehog abundance changes.
We are looking for volunteers to host cameras in their gardens over this 6-8 week period.
Eligibility:
You currently have no natural hole or hedgehog highway for hedgehogs to access your garden. Hedgehogs require a hole that is around 13cm in diameter.
If you are signed up for a hedgehog highway, or would like to sign up.
If you are not interested in a hedgehog highway, you can still get involved by hosting a camera as a control garden to monitor wildlife.
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Get in touch
If you are interested in getting involved with creating a hedgehog highway, hosting a camera trap, or contributing to our wider survey, contact us!