The nights are getting lighter & what a great way to meet up with friends at a WI meeting.
April is the beginning of the new subscription year, so a very busy evening. Hartford WI also has a number of events coming up in the forthcoming months which are proving very popular, namely afternoon tea at Vale Royal Abbey, a beauty session at John Lewis, Liverpool, our very own Hartford Show, the Cheshire Show & we are delighted to be participating again at the Arley Garden Festival.
This month our walking netball team played in the North West Walking Netball tournament, Preston & also played in a tournament with Mid Cheshire teams.
Our President & Secretary had attended the Cheshire WI Spring Council Meeting at Nunsmere Hall Hotel along with circa 400 other delegates.
The Lord Mayor of Chester, Councillor Sherin Akhtar, the first British Asian woman to hold this role was the VIP speaker & announced her intention to join a local WI. Along with Cllr Akhtar, Will Kirk, best known for his work on the television programme, The Repair Shop, spoke about his early life and work on the show.
Three ladies had attended the Green Dot Day Climate Workshop, Whitefriars where they were given a talk by Pete Atwood from Workspace – Gardening in a Changing Climate & Dr. Katie Psarou – Nutrition in a Changing Climate.
Our speaker this month was Gill from Northwich Hedgehog Rescue. Gill is passionate about hedgehogs & this came through in her talk, she even bought along baby “Audrey”, a hoglet that had recently been rescued requiring her attention.
The rescue centre covers a wide area of Cheshire with Gill & her team on call to assist in recovering injured animals or those that require some TLC.
Gill provided a lot of hedgehog information including what the animals eat, the best habitats, & what to do if you see an injured or distressed animal.
Although once a common sight in gardens & fields, sadly, hedgehogs have now been placed on the UK Red List along with a
Europe wide list for animals vulnerable to extinction. There are now only circa 1 million hedgehogs in the UK, with 30-70% less
of our prickly friends in different parts of the countryside since the year 2000. The decline in population is due to several factors, larger intensively farmed fields, less insect diversity, use of more agrichemicals, fewer ancient hedgerows, urbanization & increase in vehicle use.
This omnivore is the UK’s only spiny mammal feasting on insects such as caterpillars, slugs & beetles which has made them a gardener’s friend. In one night, a hedgehog can eat between 50g-70g of food, bearing in mind a slug weighs on average less than a gram, a hedgehog is keeping the critter population at bay.
For further info & advice if you find an injured or orphaned
hedgehog contact: http://www.northwichhedgehogrescue.co.uk
Phone: 07816 096849 or 07942 217888
Hartford W.I. Cheshire 