Emma’s home is a haven for the hoggies

A first date is often to a smart restaurant or a trip to the cinema. For Emma Farley and her husband-to- be, Joe Hale, it was a trip to a hedgehog sanctuary.

“We got the chance to hold a baby hedgehog for the first time,” explains Emma. “And I think that was it. I was smitten. But it wasn’t until we moved to Yorkshire and I started to see them in the wild that I realised just how endangered they were.”

Originally from Devon, Emma studied archaeology at the University of Sheffield where her love affair with Yorkshire began. In 2004 she moved here permanently and has been living in York since 2005.

“I had never really seen hedgehogs in the wild until I came to Yorkshire and then I started seeing them more and more,” says Emma, who started to become concerned when she saw an increasing number of them out in the day, a sign that they are distressed.

“I did some Googling and came across a lady in York who had been rescuing hedgehogs for 20 years.

“She taught me everything I needed to know about treating hedgehogs in order to get them well enough to release back into the wild.”

Emma converted the garage of her semi near York into an intensive care unit for rescued hedgehogs. She currently running at full capacity with seven poorly and underweight hedgehogs.

“The hedgehogs arrive with all sorts of problems – malnourished, dehydrated, ringworm, injuries, abandoned orphans and many are too small to survive the winter,” explains Emma.

They are cared for in hutches in her garage, each with a sleeping and food area and outdoor runs where they are “soft released” to get them used to the great outdoors. When they are a suitable health and weight to be released back to the wild she then seeks suitable gardens in which to release them.

“Ideally this is where they were originally found, but that isn’t always possible, especially if it was close to a main road or has another danger, such as an uncovered pond,” she says.

Running hedgehog rescue alongside a full time job – Emma is in the marketing department at the National Railway Museum in York – is hard work.

She and her husband have to get up at 5am every day and spend an hour and a half before work cleaning out the hutches, feeding and giving medication to their small patients. It also costs a lot to look after them.

“The first year was fine as we didn’t have very many, but now the costs really add up. We have to buy all the treatment such as antibiotics, the food, everything. It used to be just a bit of a hobby but then the costs suddenly started mounting up and so I decided I had to do something.”

Emma was always interested in crafts and making her own jewellery and so this year she decided to incorporate her two passion in a new business.

Emma uses silver clay to create unique jewellery inspired by wildlife and nature – ranging from hedgehog pendants to earrings featuring falling autumn leaves. Each piece is crafted, sanded and polished by hand.

All profits support her work rescuing hedgehogs and paying for the food, medication, equipment and other treatments they need.

As well as raising much- needed funds, her business Little Silver Hedgehog, is spreading the word about the plight of her prickly friends.

“Because I sell on line and via Facebook I have thousands of followers and also my jewellery has been sold all over the world including Cantabria in Spain and British Columbia in Canada,” says Emma.

“I have a lot of followers who are interested in hedgehogs, but due to the jewellery I am managing to get my message across to a much wider audience. As a result people have sent donations, which is really lovely and really helps.”

So far Emma has released more than 40 hedgehogs back to the wild.

“Hedgehogs are an endangered species and it is wonderful to be able to combine my passions of animals, the outdoors and craft making to be able to help them.

“It is a fantastic feeling to know that you have helped their survival and when they are ‘born free’ back to where they belong.”

Emma says many people do not realise that hedgehogs are endangered.

“Hedgehogs can roam around two miles a night usually across gardens in search of food. Because so many people have now fenced in their gardens, or put in decking there are less and less places for them to find food.”

Another problem is with a mild winter when hedgehogs often have a second litter, but the babies do not have long enough to put on enough weight to hibernate.

“This time of year is particularly hazardous for hedgehogs as they like to make nests in piles of leaves and bonfires.

“People often build their bonfires in advance, which is just a perfect place for hedgehogs to nest. It would be better if people build them on the same day or move them. But if that’s not possible then I would urge people to check before lighting.”

Emma has been raising awareness about the dangers of bonfires to hedgehogs and it seems to have paid off.

“A bonfire had been built ready for lighting when a friend alerted the finder to check the bonfire for sleeping hoggies after seeing one of my alerts.”

On checking the bonfire they found a tiny hedgehog,weighing just 124g, bringing Emma’s total to four this week.

• Emma will be selling her jewellery and giving out leaflets on how to help hedgehogs at York Makers’ Fair – December 6, at Clements Hall, Nunthorpe Road, York, and 12.30-4.30pm on December 6.

For more information about helping hedgehogs visit www.british hedgehogs.org.uk

To help support York’s hedgehogs visit www.littlesilverhedgehog.etsy.com or www.facebook.com/littlesilverhedgehog