MOWER MAKER JOINS HEDGEHOG AWARENESS CAMPAIGN

Hyundai Power Products have agreed that every lawnmower and strimmer coming off their production line will now include a ‘Be Hedgehog Aware’ sticker on it.

The company are collaborating with teenage hedgehog champion Dylan Allman age 15 from Monmouth, who has been working tirelessly for the last two years raising awareness of the plight of the hedgehog.

Dylan believes that for mower producers just putting a sticker on a box isn’t enough. He says, “People don’t keep boxes that equipment comes in, and they need to be reminded to look for hedgehogs every time they’re about to strim or mow. A sticker on the actual piece of equipment reminds the gardener to check for hedgehogs first, which means they are much less likely to be injured if they’re discovered before strimming or mowing begins."

Many hedgehogs suffer injuries each year from gardening equipment because people forget to check before they start to strim and mow, so when Dylan contacted Roland Llewellin, md of Genpower Ltd, a UK distributor of Hyundai Power Products to tell them about his campaign and ambitious plans for the stickers, Roland says he couldn’t help but be impressed. “We are delighted for Hyundai Power Products to be working with Dylan and his ‘Hedgehog Aware’ campaign," he explained. "It’s a very worthwhile cause and also very inspiring to see someone of Dylan’s age driving this forward.

"The first batch of machines with the stickers on have just come off the production line, and we can’t wait to get those out to the UK’s gardeners and start making a difference to helping reduce the number of hedgehogs injured in gardens.”

Grace Johnson, hedgehog officer for Hedgehog Street (a joint campaign between wildlife charities People’s Trust for Endangered Species and The British Hedgehog Preservation Society) added, “Dylan is a fantastic hedgehog champion who is really making a difference for hedgehogs. We are thrilled that Hyundai Power Products are supporting Dylan, and we hope many other organisations follow suit and ensure that anyone using their products are ‘hedgehog aware’ when out gardening.”