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Wildlife
- Close
- - We protect wildlife in Britain and around the world by bringing our most threatened species back from the brink of extinction. We do this through ground-breaking research, practical conservation and education, all with the help of our supporters.
Wild places
- Close
- - Some habitats contain such a richness of life that we need to protect them at all odds. We are working to preserve ancient woodlands, orchards and wood pastures and parklands, as well as the countless species they support.
What we do
- Close
- - Everything we do is based on scientific evidence. We gather this through surveys, which you can take part in, and by awarding research grants to the most inspiring scientists worldwide. This evidence guides our conservation efforts and is shared through our events and publications.
Who we are
- Close
- - People’s Trust for Endangered Species was set up in 1977 to save our wildlife. We are governed by a board of volunteer trustees and our team of staff are passionate about protecting endangered species and places.
Success stories
- Close
- - We strive to bring our most threatened species in the UK and around the world back from the brink of extinction. Our successes come from ground-breaking research, practical conservation and education, all with the help of our supporters.
Get involved
- Close
- - There are so many ways you can help save endangered species. Fancy taking part in a survey, joining us on a wildlife event or becoming a regular supporter?
Shop
- Close
- - Support our work in our shop with a range of charity gifts, home-ware, cards and more. 100% of the profits go directly to help wildlife both in the UK an overseas.
Donate
- Close
- - There is nothing natural about the alarming rate at which we are losing animals and their homes. It is absolutely avoidable. We can stop the loss of our wildlife – but we need your support. You can act now by choosing to give to our cause. Thank you.

Home // Research grants // Apply for a grant // UK mammals grant criteria

UK mammals grant criteria

2026: We will be opening to Expressions of Interest (EOIs) in mid-July

Applications are welcomed from voluntary conservation organisations, scientific researchers and consortia for financial support for work that relates to the conservation of mammals in the United Kingdom. Only one application can be submitted from each organisation. Individual awards are likely to be between £10,000 and £20,000. The average amount granted per project has been about £15,000 in the past. Our UK Mammal Grants budget in 2026 is limited to £25,000, so we are likely to only fund one or two projects.

Key research themes

PTES funds work on British mammal species across the UK. Priority is given to research undertaken to understand the ecological and conservation needs of species previously listed on the UK BAP priority list. In particular we are interested in work that unlocks a conservation issue – something that has clear, practical implications for further conservation of one or more species. Funds will be awarded for research into understanding what conservation actions are needed which could include testing methods of conservation translocations, trialling different habitat management schemes, investigating novel monitoring methods, particularly for species where none exist, or other scientific research into how to address threats facing our endangered species.

PTES has identified three key themes under which there are a variety of research questions to be addressed which will help to inform and direct future conservation work on the UK’s priority mammal species. These research questions reflect priorities identified by the various species expert groups and other published targets.

Grant proposals that address any of these questions are more likely to be given priority although proposals addressing other emerging conservation issues will also be considered.

Where possible it would be beneficial if research is undertaken on more than one species. PTES prioritises over-arching issues that affect different species in various environments. However much of the work needed, by its very nature, will be species-specific.

PTES UK Mammal Grants Guidance for Applicants 2026.

Priority research themes

1. Habitats for mammals: research into how best to improve and restore habitats, manage habitat for particular species and address habitat fragmentation, modification and loss issues.

2. Human impacts and mitigation: how to mitigate the impacts of human activities on species and their habitats, including climate change, housing and building development, road and infrastructure development, farming, food production and land management, Invasive Non-Native Species and diseases, and toxic chemicals and pollution.

3. Monitoring mammals: better methods for estimating distribution and abundance, establishing national monitoring schemes

Recent successful projects can be found at https://ptes.org/grants/uk-mammal-projects/

This year priority will be given to applications for projects working on species that have less support in the UK (e.g. water shrews, polecats, stoats, weasels, harvest mice, marine mammals, brown hares and mountain hares etc). Unless testing something very novel we are unlikely to support projects on species that have been the focus of largescale, well-funded projects recently such as pine martens, beavers, water voles and wild cats.

Application process

We will be using a two-stage application process for our UK Mammal Grants this year:

Stage 1 – Expression of Interest (EOI). A short standardised form designed to reduce the workload for applicants. Forms from eligible organisations will be reviewed by PTES staff. Selected applicants will then be invited to submit a full project proposal.

Stage 2 – Full project proposal. Applicants will need to complete the full online application form which requires more detailed information about the project. These proposals will be assessed by PTES trustees at a meeting in October.

At both stages of the process, project applicants (both successful and unsuccessful) will receive notification of the results by email to the project leader.

Due to the anticipated high number of applications, we will not be able to provide individual feedback at Stage 1.

The provisional timetable for applications is

Deadline for Stage 1 EOIs 30^th July 2026

Announcement of Stage 1 results End of August 2026

Deadline for Stage 2 full project applications 10^th September 2026

Announcement of Stage 2 results Early November 2026

How to apply

2026: We will be opening to EOIs in mid July

EOIs should be submitted by 23.59 (UK time) on 30^th July 2026

Make sure you have carefully read the guidelines (available from the link above)
Complete and submit the online EOI application form (link to the online form coming soon) by 30^th July
Your application will be assessed, and you will be notified at the end of August whether your application has been progressed to the second round.

All related questions may be e-mailed to grants@ptes.org.

Conservation Evidence

We are delighted to be an Evidence Champion of Conservation Evidence, a University of Cambridge initiative. Conservation Evidence summarises the scientific evidence on different conservation interventions that people have carried out, all around the world. Their work so far includes comprehensive information on the conservation of birds and bees, frogs and forests. There is also information on work relating to many other taxa and in the next few years detailed work on other taxa will be added. For some projects, there will not yet be relevant evidence on the Conservation Evidence website; we encourage you to consult other evidence if available, but this will not prejudice your application.

Crucially, this information is made freely available, so anyone can read it and see what has worked – and what hasn’t. However, some conservation groups are still not using the available science, meaning they may not be as effective as they could be in conserving nature. As an Evidence Champion, PTES is keen to fund experimental conservation work, which tests actions that are undertaken in order to prove what does and what doesn’t work.

We would like all our grantees to check the evidence for their proposed projects on the Conservation Evidence website. This will help us to fund the projects with the highest chance of success. We will also be encouraging the conservationists that we fund to test their work and publish it in Conservation Evidence’s journal, so we can be constantly improving conservation science. For examples of how to reference Conservation Evidence in your application please click here.

If you have any questions relating to whether your proposed work either has been trialled previously or whether it can be adapted to be more effective, please email grants@ptes.org.

Privacy policy

The information that you provide will be held by People’s Trust for Endangered Species. For information on how PTES processes personal data, please see our privacy policy. You can change how you hear from us via enquiries@ptes.org or by calling 020 7498 4533. The information collected through this grant application, is shared with a number of experts for assessment and to help guide conservation action. This data never includes your personal details.