Youngsters at a school in Norwich have been flexing their creative muscles designing posters to highlight the plight of one of our cutest four-legged friends, the hedgehog.
The recent heatwave may have been a blessing for some but for others including hedgehogs the hot, dry weather has thrown up a host of challenges to overcome.
But now, the prickly creatures have a group of youngsters on their side, in the form of pupils at Arden Grove Infant and Nursery School in Hellesdon. AFter learning about the creatures' plight from the hedgehog organisation Hedmedod's Hedgehog Support, they have designed posters to let people know what they can do to help the animals in the warm weather.
Lynda Clarkson, a nursery nurse at the school who organised the visit from Hedmedod's Hedgehog Support explained that after the visit the children took the animals' struggle to heart, even going as far as to rescue and nurse an unwell hedgehog back to health.
Encouraging the children to each design a poster, she said: 'The response was amazing. We were flooded with posters and had massive task picking the best.
'Whilst this was happening, a pupil in year two had rescued a hedgehog on the road, taken it home, fed and watered it and then released it back into the wild, fully recovered.
'The children were informing us of the fact they were providing food and water, and that it had gone in the morning. There was a lot of excitement.'
Awarding the children with prizes for the best poster designs, Mrs Clarkson said: 'It was incredibly difficult to judge the posters - everybody has been inspired.'
Paula Pithers, from Hedmedod's Hedgehog Support, said: 'I think the children are brilliant. They have really taken it on board and they're really helping the hedgehogs - we've got our first hedgehog heroes at the school.
'I've got copies of the posters which I'm going to put up everywhere. At the moment it's a really difficult time for hedgehogs because of the warm weather. It's been so hot and dry that mothers are running out of food.'
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