Hedgehog Friendly Town
1274. Sophie Smith
1275. Kyra Barboutis
Sophie Smith and Kyra Barboutis, aged 13, have transformed their home town of Stratford-upon-Avon into a ‘Hedgehog Friendly Town’ with a specialist rehabilitation centre and improved access to veterinary services.
Sophie and Kyra also deliver conservation awareness campaigns to raise the plight of hedgehogs, whose numbers have fallen from 30 million in 1950 to 1.5 million in the UK today. The pair have been running the initiative for the past four years, during which time approximately 500 hedgehogs have come through their service.
In a personal letter to Sophie, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said:
“I know you do this with no thought of praise or reward, but allow me to offer my own recognition of how you are rescuing hedgehogs and protecting this wonderful woodland creature through your conservation work.”
In a personal letter to Kyra, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said:
“I know you do this with no thought of praise or reward, but allow me to offer my own recognition of your heroic efforts to save hundreds of hedgehogs in your local area and to educate others about the importance of hedgehog conservation.”
Nadhim Zahawi, MP for Stratford-upon-Avon, said:
“I am delighted for Sophie and Kyra, both of whom are very deserving of this award. I was extremely pleased to meet with them last week and hear about their good work to protect hedgehogs in my constituency. We need more people like Sophie and Kyra!”
Sophie and Kyra said:
“We are so delighted to receive this recognition for our work. It just proves that anyone can make an impact if they just care and work hard. Hopefully more children after seeing this will also stand up and make a difference for our wildlife.”
Pictured: Nadhim Zahawi MP with Sophie and Kyra
