Robert Wight

You might have spotted Robert on Springwatch earlier this year. This nature-loving teenager is a real hedgehog hero, building homes and feeding stations at his local allotment, and inspiring other allotment holders to look out for wildlife, too. 

Robert's dad, Mark, told us a little bit more: 

'Robert is a 17-year-old with autism and moderate learning disabilities. He’s been interested in nature from an early age, but his interest really peaked when our family took on an allotment in Kendal during lockdown in June 2020.

Deciding that he wanted a wildlife area on the allotment, Robert dug out a pond and planted a range of aquatic plants. The pond was soon inhabited by diving beetles, pond skaters and eventually frogs. It even attracted visits from the local ducks.

Robert also started to think about what he could do to help the local hedgehogs and the benefits that an increased hedgehog population could bring to the allotment holders. He did some research about hedgehog houses and then designed and built his first hedgehog house with the help of a fellow allotment holder.

Following conversations with other allotment holders, Robert then decided to put in a bid to Kendal in Bloom to fund the construction of 10 new hedgehog houses to be sited on the allotment. He refined his original design, then built and installed the hedgehog houses in quiet locations across the allotment in late 2020. There are now a number of hedgehogs that regularly visit the allotment for food and shelter.

Robert’s wellbeing benefitted greatly from being outside and being able to work on his wildlife projects during lockdown. The hedgehog project has also boosted his confidence and sparked his passion for carpentry, which has led to him securing a place to study architectural joinery at college from September 2022. He was also awarded a Special Award by Cumbria in Bloom in 2021 for his conservation work on the allotment and featured on BBC Springwatch in 2022.

Robert’s work has generated a lot of interest from other allotment holders and some have taken steps to make their allotment plots more hedgehog friendly by adding hedgehog highways into boundary fences and setting up feeding stations themselves. He would ideally like to expand the hedgehog project to other allotments in Kendal.

Robert has also recently rescued his first hoglet from the allotment which he found alone during the day and which was nursed back to health by a local animal rescue and rehabilitation centre. He is hoping that some more rescued hedgehogs can be rehomed on the allotment.

Robert’s advice to anyone else who want to start taking action for nature in their local area is to do your research, start small, talk to friends and neighbours about what you are planning and, most of all, to enjoy yourself!'

How to help hedgehogs

How to build a hedgehog house

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