Hoglets is run by Andy, a primary school teacher with a passion for British wildlife education!

I have always been interested in British wildlife since observing hedgehogs, squirrels and foxes in my childhood back garden during the 1980s. This interest has remained and grown with me and now as an adult I love encouraging wildlife into my own back garden and plan many British holidays with ‘ticking a British creature off the list’ as the primary focus!

I am now a primary school teacher and over the years have become very concerned with how little some children know about our British wildlife. Many children are unable to identify the common birds that visit the school playground, each one is a ‘bird’ - not a pigeon or a magpie for example. Children are taught the topic ‘Rivers’ in KS2 yet when asked to name wildlife they might find living along their local river, I was surprised to receive the answers ‘starfish’ and ‘dolphins’. Learning exclusively about British wildlife is not in the National Curriculum and very much depends on individual teachers choosing to include it within their topics!

It soon dawned on me that not every child is as lucky as I was and they may not get much exposure to British wildlife as they grow up. Some don’t have gardens, get taken on countryside adventures or even get taught about British wildlife at school, and because there is less wildlife around nowadays (which is mostly nocturnal), how can an interest be ‘sparked’ in a creature if they have never seen it? I felt passionate about doing something about it, so I created Hoglets!

Mrs V Anderson (Headteacher at Christ Church Primary School)

"I would like to say a huge thank you to Andy for giving our children the opportunity to develop and nurture their interest in British wildlife. As a school based in a town centre, it has afforded us the chance to learn about different habitats and the plants and animals that live there, something that we may not otherwise have easily accessed.

Andy has encouraged children’s interest by supporting the school to develop and give children access to the outdoor learning areas, creating termly wildlife project competitions as well as bringing wildlife into the school. He has transformed our outdoor learning area to encourage and promote wildlife and the children have been enthused and excited about being involved in this. Andy has gone above and beyond to ensure the success of the projects and worked so hard and enthusiastically with the staff and children. School has gained recognition within the local community for these events and this would not have been possible without his support, we cannot thank him enough."

Mrs C Scothern (Education Officer, National Forest)

"Through working in partnership with the National Forest Company, Andy has developed brilliant outdoor learning facilities at Christ Church School. They now have an amazing roof garden and an exciting outside area, featuring a sensory butterfly area, planters for every class and a bug hotel.

Many of the children have limited experience of the fun and benefits open to them by spending time outdoors, but they are now able to experience and engage in outdoor learning regularly. Alongside this, Andy has facilitated training for the staff, to encourage and motivate them to use the outdoor areas for their lessons. "