Hedgehog Street People: Imogen from BHPS
23rd November 2023
Imogen Buller has recently joined The British Hedgehog Preservation Society as Communications Officer. She has headed up their recent rebrand and launch of their new Instagram channel.
What role were you doing before starting at BHPS?
My background is in the arts and journalism – but I’ve always had an interest in wild and wonderful animals like hedgehogs!
My previous role involved doing advocacy and comms for a national arts charity – and it’s where I learnt to combine my passions for telling stories with inspiring people to take positive action. Knowing that my work is helping give something back to wildlife, and helping support hedgehogs across the UK is the best feeling and a real privilege.
What does being a comms officer involve?
It’s a real mix! A big part of my role is to keep our supporters and wider public updated about what BHPS does, and to share knowledge, advice and awareness of how we can all help hedgehogs to thrive in the wild. But this takes many forms! I look after all our social media platforms, help maintain our website and produce our newsletters – but I also work on campaigns like Hedgehog Friendly Football and Hedgehog Awareness Week; and collaborations with Hedgehog Street and Hedgehog Friendly Campus. There’s a lot of planning involved, reacting to live situations, creating digital content and working with the rest of the BHPS team too. They’re such a knowledgeable and passionate bunch, and between us we make sure that everything we do has hedgehog welfare at its heart.
What’s your favourite thing about working at BHPS (and has anything surprised you)?!
It’s been brilliant ‘meeting’ some of the BHPS community via social media and seeing some of the amazing things they and the hedgehogs in their gardens get up to. It’s really inspiring to see hedgehog houses, night-camera footage and wildlife gardens in action across the whole country! I love seeing how resourceful and imaginative people are when it comes to welcoming wildlife, especially when they upcycle and recycle unwanted objects and turn them into things like bug hotels and feeding stations!
What do you like to do outside of work?
I like walking up on the Malvern Hills where I live – I find getting outside and being in nature is good for wellbeing. I also love visiting botanical gardens and national plant collections around the world and can happily while away several hours, just looking, taking photos and getting lost in the greenery! While on my travels, I also love visiting beautiful old cinemas – the faded glamour and art deco buildings never fail to impress me.
What’s your favourite fact about hedgehogs?
My favourite hedgehog fact is that they can swim! They’re actually pretty good little swimmers too – although they do struggle to get out of water with steep sides, so any ponds or containers should have a shallow ramp or pebble shore along one edge so hedgehogs and other wildlife can have a drink or take a dip safely.
Do you have hedgehogs visiting your garden?
I’ve heard one snuffling about in the hedgerow between my garden and my neighbours’ – but not yet managed to spot it! They’re very good at hiding, and my garden is quite wild in parts – with trees, a log pile, a huge compost heap and lots of shrubs – so it has lots of places for hedgehogs to hang out and forage for food. It’s also really open with hedgerows and natural hedgehog highways, so I’ve made it as welcoming as possible.
What is your favourite animal (apart from hedgehogs!) and why?
Apart from hedgehogs, I really love armadillos – I’ve always been fascinated by them, their strange armoured skin and how they move. I think there must be something special about animals which can roll up into balls as a defence mechanism…!
