THE community group striving to re-wild the north of Winchester featured on TV – and were interviewed by a Peter Symonds alumni.

Wilder Hyde spoke to presenter Megan McCubbin (Springwatch) and her crew from ITV’s This Morning programme to their gardens recently.

The young presenter, who attended Peter Symonds College in the city, has a new slot on the popular daytime programme called “Nurture your Nature” which explores a different aspect of Britain's wildlife each week.

Having heard about Wilder Hyde’s Hedgehog Highways project, Megan and her team spent an afternoon interviewing members of the group. The programme was aired on Wednesday May 5 to coincide with Hedgehog Awareness Week.

Two founding members of the group, Sarah Perrin and Sarah Williamson, were interviewed by Megan about how they are creating a wilder and greener neighbourhood to benefit both wildlife and people.

The group has a steadily growing membership as more people than ever appreciate the value of nature on their doorstep.

A spokesperson for Wilder Hyde, which is striving to re-wild Hyde and Abbotts Barton, said: "Hedgehog populations have decreased dramatically in the past 20 years and the hedgehog is now classified in the UK as ‘vulnerable’.

"Hedgehogs travel up to 2km a night looking for food and a mate. Wilder Hyde’s Hedgehog Highways project encourages local residents to ensure there are gaps in their garden fences to allow a hedgehog to travel safely between gardens, away from roads.

" The crew used a drone to reveal the highways around Hyde as well as night vision and infra red lights to capture footage of the hedgehogs feeding in gardens after dark.

"Megan also delighted younger members of Wilder Hyde, Thomas Agombar and Georgia Barrett, by entertaining them with facts about hedgehogs and discussing ways that we can all help to reverse the decline of one of Britain’s most popular mammals."

Visit Wilderhyde.org.uk for more information.