Photo credit: Emma Drabble Photographer

Monmouth School for Boys’ pupil, Dylan, has been awarded the Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak’s, daily Points of Light award in recognition of his tireless work towards hedgehog conservation. The Points of Light is awarded every day, by the PM’s office in Downing Street, to recognise outstanding individuals making a positive change within their community and inspiring others.   

Dylan, who is in Year 12 at Monmouth School for Boys’ founded ‘Hedgehog Aware’ during the Covid lockdown, when he was just 13, after he became aware of the drastically declining hedgehog numbers and wanted to take action to help them thrive.  

Dylan raises awareness of hedgehogs through speaking at clubs, schools, and youth groups. He also launched a ‘Hedgehog First Response Unit’, with funding from the Welsh Government. In addition, Dylan collaborated with garden equipment manufacturers, including ‘Hyundai’ and ‘STIGA’, to place ‘Be Hedgehog Aware’ stickers on their products and raise awareness of how strimmers and mowers can often cause fatal injuries to hedgehogs. His collaboration with ‘Jewson’ has seen them develop a ‘Hedgehog Friendly Fencing’ product range that will soon be stocked nationwide, featuring 13cm Hedgehog Highways to link gardens and be installed in new homes as part of the ‘Hedgehog Street’ campaign. 

Photo credits: Emma Drabble Photographer

Headmaster, Simon Dorman, said “We are exceptionally proud of Dylan and his commitment to sustainability and, in particular, the conservation of hedgehogs.  He is a shining light not only to the school community but to anyone who has a passion for the environment.” 

“Living where we do, on the banks of the beautiful River Wye, sustainability is paramount to our community to thrive and is a large focus of our school strategy.  Not only are we delighted to support Dylan wherever possible, we also local groups who are working tirelessly to restore the health of our great river and surrounds.  We will be hosting a Sustainability Conference in July, sharing ideas and action points to bring about real change.” 

In response to the award, Dylan said that he wanted to dedicate the award to all the ‘fantastic’ volunteers across the country, working hard in hedgehog conservation. 

More information on the Points of Light award can be found here: http://www.pointsoflight.gov.uk/