Inmates at HMP La Moye craft boxes to save Jersey's hedgehogs

The Jersey Hedgehog Preservation Group has publicly thanked inmates at HMP La Moye prison in St Brelade for building hand-crafted wooden shelters designed to protect the local hedgehog population. Prisoners constructed 20 feeding and nesting boxes using reclaimed pallet timber, providing vital support for Jersey wildlife while gaining practical vocational skills aimed at reducing reoffending rates.

The project began after a chance meeting at a local veterinary clinic between a prison officer who brought in an injured hedgehog and Dru Burdon from the Jersey Hedgehog Preservation Group. Burdon provided the prison with official templates for both the feeding and nesting boxes, which inmates then built inside the facility's carpentry workshops.

The finished units were delivered to the wildlife charity earlier in August and immediately proved popular with island residents. All of the feeding boxes, priced at 20 pounds each, sold out rapidly, and only a small number of the 25-pound nesting boxes remain available. Burdon stated that the public response has been terrific and noted that the boxes are saving hedgehogs' lives while helping prisoners develop practical carpentry skills.

Peter Gould, the vocational manager at HMP La Moye, highlighted the rehabilitative value of the work. He explained that the project teaches essential health and safety best practice, along with practical experience operating workshop machinery and equipment. According to Gould, the initiative provides inmates with an introduction to trade skills that can lead to recognized qualifications and future careers in the construction industry.

Gould emphasized that participating in community projects gives prisoners a valuable sense of purpose, achievement, and connection to the local community. He noted that seeing the positive real-world impact of their work helps support successful rehabilitation and reduces the likelihood of reoffending after release.

The hedgehog box project is part of a wider vocational curriculum offered at the St Brelade facility. Inmates also participate in refurbishing bicycles for donation to the Age Concern Jersey charity, restoring local memorial benches, growing vegetables and plants for charity and the prison kitchen, and building additional wildlife habitats. Prison officials stated they are proud of the positive contributions prisoners continue to make through these community-based initiatives.

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