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We need your help Please respond to this Government consultation to help shape the future of our countryside and ensure there’s a better deal for our wildlife. We need a farming system that both grows our food and looks after our environment. Just as we depend on the UK’s farmland for much of the food …

The water vole survey is starting this week, records are coming in from across the country to the BIG hedgehog map and the first dormouse checks are under way. Spring might have been slow to start this year but it has definitely sprung now!  So what are the favourite signs of spring from staff here at …

National Water Vole Monitoring Programme starts 15 April 2018. We are calling on all wildlife enthusiasts to help monitor signs of the UK’s disappearing water voles as part of our annual National Water Vole Monitoring Programme. Affectionately portrayed as Ratty in childhood favourite Wind in the Willows, water voles were once a common sight along …

Winter might look like a quiet time for orchards but it is a busy season for orchard management. Laura Bower, Conservation Officer, gives us an update on Rough Hill and the work to convert this once neglected orchard into a wildlife haven. Since we were last at Rough Hill, it has been flailed and looks …

Bechstein’s is one of the rarest British bats as their preferred woodland homes are being destroyed or intensively managed. The challenges of studying an elusive night flying animal means much remains to be learned about this wonderful species.   In this guest blog post Patrick Wright, PhD researcher at Exeter University, gives us a glimpse …

Hedgehogs on the Edge: new report shows hedgehogs plummet by half in British countryside At least half the population of our native hedgehogs has been lost from the British countryside over the last two decades, warn two wildlife charities in a report issued today, Wednesday 7 February 2018. The State of Britain’s Hedgehogs 2018, published …

Many of the solutions to helping protect some of our most endangered species involve working with local communities to raise awareness of the issues and solutions. This vital conservation tool is very different from much of the work researchers do but it has the rewards of watching people inspired by your work coming together to …

20th January 2018 saw 50 volunteers descend on Briddlesford Woods, our nature reserve on the Isle of Wight. It might have been a damp weekend but it didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of our superstar volunteers! 70m of hedge layed 12m of boardwalk installed Oak tree cage erected Large sycamores felled and large area cleared of …

Sudden death of hundreds of thousands of saiga antelope The sudden death of over 200,000 saiga antelopes in Kazakhstan in May 2015, more than 80% of the affected population and more than 60% of the global population of this species, baffled the world. In just three weeks, entire herds of tens of thousands of healthy …

The shortest day of the year will soon be upon us and we’re celebrating all the best bits of winter. Migrating birds arriving in their thousands, the feeling of fresh snow underfoot and an excuse to drink hot chocolate at the end of a wintry walk. Of course one of the best things about winter …

To celebrate National Tree Week we have asked some of our staff about their favourite trees. These might not feature on any of the top trees in the country lists but they are all special in their own way.

Project background There are currently several methods used to survey for hazel dormice including nest tubes, nest boxes, nut searching and nest searching. However, these scarce, arboreal small mammals can be difficult to detect and it is uncertain which method or combination of methods works best in different habitat types.  This project compares the existing …