The presence of hedgehogs and other wildlife across the Vet School Campus is being recorded as part of the National Hedgehog Monitoring Programme (NHMP), thanks to the efforts of staff and student volunteers from across the University of Edinburgh.
Led by The Conservation Volunteers and the University’s Department for Social Responsibility and Sustainability, a team of staff and student volunteers set up 30 camera traps over a 1km grid on the Easter Bush campus.
Thousands of photos were recorded over 30 days between July and August this year.
The photos were uploaded to the MammalWeb platform, which uses machine learning to filter out images that contain people or blank images caused by false triggers, leaving only images featuring animals. Citizen scientists are now classifying the wildlife captured in the remaining images.
Previously, knowledge of hedgehog populations were limited to an understanding of where hedgehogs might currently exist, but the NHMP will set a baseline for understanding their population and distribution across the UK over the long term.
“I enjoyed learning about wildlife cameras and how to place them, and the whole experience was great; walking about placing the cameras and collecting them, with a lovely group of people.”
Morwenna, NHMP Volunteer
Stoats, badgers, deer and hedgehogs have already been identified from the images at Easter Bush. Members of the public can volunteer as spotters, helping to identify animals that have been caught on camera at the Easter Bush campus and across the rest of the UK, by signing up to MammalWeb via the link below.
