The merchant is donating free materials such as recycled wooden pallets, available to collect from any UK branch.

Leading UK builders’ merchant Jewson is encouraging local schools, community groups, tradespeople and businesses to join its Homes for Nature campaign, helping to build shelters for hedgehogs as they get ready for this winter’s hibernation.

Jewson is donating free materials such as recycled wooden pallets, available to collect from any UK branch, where colleagues can also provide advice on how to create biodiverse habitats to help wildlife in the colder months – and throughout the year.

Homes for Nature will start by creating habitats for hedgehogs as they approach hibernation season in November, before focussing on bats, birds and bees. Participants are being encouraged to proudly share pictures of their creations on social media, using the hashtag #HomesforNature.

The campaign is part of Jewson’s environment sustainability strategy, which has seen the roll-out of sustainability ambassadors and sustainability centres across the company’s network of over 400 local branches.

A member of the STARK Building Materials UK Ltd group of builders’ merchants and materials distributors, Jewson has also launched its first-ever Sustainability House at its Luton branch, on 5 September 2025. The full-scale mock home showcases products from its Building for the Future range and gives customers a hands-on learning space, offering information and guidance on the latest regulations and environmental standards – and the products available to help them with their projects.

Sabrina Passley, Head of Sustainability at STARK UK, said: “The Homes for Nature initiative reflects our commitment to sustainability and empowers communities to take simple, impactful steps toward a nature-positive future. Alongside our own actions as a business, we’re excited to work closely with local schools, builders and community groups to help them support biodiversity. Hedgehog-friendly habitats can be easily created anywhere – from school playgrounds to designated spaces on construction sites – giving hedgehogs a safe, cosy area where they can hibernate over winter.”

Dylan Allman, Hedgehog Champion and Founder of Hedgehog Aware, added: “It’s great to see a company engaging small, local wildlife charities and young people – this can be such a powerful force for change. Seeing Homes for Nature come to fruition certainly makes me feel optimistic, both as an advocate for nature and as a young person, that real steps are being taken towards a future in which hedgehogs and all species can not only survive, but thrive within our shared environments.”

Jewson was the first national business to sign-up to the Hedgehog Friendly Fencing campaign in 2023, run by the People’s Trust for Endangered Species and the British Hedgehog Preservation Society, pledging to help native hedgehogs by stocking a number of innovative solutions such as gravel boards with pre-installed ‘Hedgehog Highways’. Jewson also stocks a variety of biodiversity products within its Building for the Future range and has pledged to donate money towards Hedgehog Aware’s new rescue centre.