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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 // Our UK mammal projects // Road tunnels for wildlife

Road tunnels for wildlife

Making light in road tunnels

Funding for this project has now finished

The problem

Roads cause problems for our wildlife in more than one way. Not only are many animals killed trying to cross the road each year, but roads that are especially busy and wide can create impenetrable barriers for many species, isolating populations from one another.

Mitigation is used to some extent, when new roads are constructed. However, no one has yet looked at how effective these measures are, whether they actually work, or if they might be having negative impacts instead.

The solution

This project will build on current work by fellow charity Froglife. They are monitoring road tunnels that have been constructed to encourage safe movement for newts, frogs and toads under new busy roads. The team will now look at which other animals species are using these tunnels and just how effective they are for local conservation. In particular they are keen to see if they are useful for hedgehogs and water voles – two species we’re really concerned about here at PTES.

The team will gather essential baseline information and try to understand which factors most influence why and how these underpasses are used. These factors include how the tunnels are constructed, where they are placed and what the surrounding habitat looks like.

They will also create a standard monitoring scheme that can be rolled out at a national level by consultants and volunteers for future and existing projects. This vital information will form the basis for informed planning and conservation guidance for future projects and mitigation measures on a landscape scale.

Ultimately this information will enable us to promote the best solutions in order to benefit the conservation of the widest range of animal species.

Latest update

This hedgehog was recently recorded in a 50cm wide amphibian road tunnel at a site in Cambridgeshire monitored by Froglife.

hedgehog in amphibian road tunnel by Froglife

You can read more about this work on our partner’s site here

Thank you to all our donors who helped us fund this work. You can help us support more projects like this with a donation today:

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