Community-level hedgehog highway networks connecting multiple gardens in coordinated schemes represent one of the most effective urban wildlife welfare interventions available to ordinary people.
Urban hedgehog highway networks represent community-level welfare action that is more powerful than individual garden modifications alone. Hedgehogs need territories of 1-2km radius — a scale that requires many connected gardens to provide. A single gap in a fence network can prevent hedgehogs from accessing extensive habitat on the other side. Community coordination through Hedgehog Street and similar programs creates the connectivity that individual actions cannot achieve alone. These networks also create social benefits — connecting neighbors around a shared wildlife welfare goal — and educational opportunities for children who see hedgehogs benefiting from the changes their families made.