Hatch Warren Nature Group

16/10/2026

🦔 One quick swipe of a garden strimmer. One seriously injured hedgehog. 💔

This is Dodge. He was brought to Tiggywinkles with a large, deep wound across the top of his head after being caught by a garden strimmer.

Our veterinary team has been treating his injury, and he’s now sporting a special wound treatment patch to help him heal.

We’ll keep a close eye on Dodge and give him all the care he needs to get back on his tiny feet.

Sadly, hedgehogs often curl into a ball when they feel threatened, making them incredibly difficult to spot in long grass and undergrowth.

🌿 Before you strim or mow, always check carefully for wildlife. Those few extra moments could make all the difference to a little life that might be a bit slow to dodge disaster...

💚 One share could help prevent another injury. Please share Dodge’s story and help us protect our precious hedgehogs.

13/10/2026

Wild Clary flowering on Dorrel Bank, normally flowers about June. Classed as a County Rare wildflower for Hampshire.

13/10/2026

This is a map of the areas in Hatch Warren that volunteers have been improving for nature or would like to work on.

13/10/2026

Its the time of year when the community group need to sow seed and introduce the plug plants to sites that are being targeted for wildflower improvements. On Sunday October 11th for example volunteers introduced some 1,000 cowslips grown from locally collected seed into what we call Dorrel Bank which is close to Dorrel Close. We will be introducing many more plugs of many different species over the coming weeks. If you have an interest in nature conservation but would like to know more about the range of activities we need help with then please email: [email protected]

01/10/2026

The Rewilding Network have put out a short film extolling the work they are doing or helping to restore nature.

21/09/2026

Photography competition time! Deadline 27th September. If you have any pictures of the River Loddon (or tributaries to it) and would like to have a go, you can enter here:

10/09/2026

Please come and help out. It is also our monthly work party so if interested in any local wildlife volunteering/meadow maintenance then please do come and have a chat with us

04/09/2026

19/08/2026

We're climbing into this week's to focus on ivy.

We've recently spotted signs of ivy being cut back from trees in some of our open spaces, likely by well-meaning residents. However, ivy is actually a valuable native plant that supports a wide variety of wildlife. Contrary to a common myth, ivy doesn't strangle trees or steal their nutrients. It has its own roots and simply uses trees as a natural framework to grow towards the light.

Its flowers, berries and evergreen foliage provide food and shelter at a time of year when resources can be scarce. Birds, insects, small mammals and even hibernating bats all benefit from the habitat ivy creates.

So if you spot ivy climbing a tree, please leave it be. It's doing an important job in supporting nature and helping our local wildlife thrive.