‘Northern stronghold’ for rare hazel dormice created in Lancashire This week, a unique partnership of 10 organisations are coming together in an attempt to bring hazel dormice back from the brink. 39 dormice are being reintroduced into an ancient woodland in Lancashire. This reintroduction follows the milestone reintroduction in 2021 that saw 30 hazel dormice …

39 endangered hazel dormice are reintroduced into an ancient woodland in Lancashire This reintroduction follows the milestone reintroduction in 2021 that saw 30 hazel dormice (including the UK’s 1,000th) being released into a neighbouring woodland, creating a bigger and better-connected population in the Lancashire landscape Unique partnership of 10 organisations aims to bring hazel dormice …

The Aral Sea in Central Asia is synonymous with ecological and socio-economic collapse. At the centre of this region lies, what until the sea largely vanished, used to be an island: Vozrozhdenie (meaning ‘Resurrection’). This remote island has been home to critically endangered saiga antelope for at least 400 years. Until recently, the unique biodiversity …

Wildlife charity asks volunteers to search in woodlands, as well as in gardens and parks From late May into July, wildlife charity People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) is calling for people across the UK to record any sightings of endangered stag beetles, as part of the charity’s annual ‘Great Stag Hunt’ (www.stagbeetles.ptes.org). Stag beetles …

Country-wide effort needed to save Britain’s fastest declining mammal Forget the Easter Bunny, this Easter is all about water voles! Wildlife charity People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) is calling for volunteers across England, Scotland and Wales to take part in their national water vole survey, which starts on Good Friday. Immortalised by Ratty in …

The Nature Recovery Green Paper, which Defra published on 16 March 2022, includes sections on consolidation and rationalisation of species protection and the creation of a new tiered approach to species protection in England. As a champion and leader for conservation and research for some of England key mammal species, PTES has a significant interest …

Magnificent stag beetles Sadly, the incredible stag beetle is threatened across Europe. PTES has been working to save stag beetles for nearly 25 years. We’ve funded research, collected records through our Great Stag Hunt survey, and more recently, we have joined the European Stag Beetle Monitoring Network. What is the European Stag Beetle Monitoring Network? …

Spring is well underway and hedges across the countryside are rich with colours and sounds as blossoms emerge and wildlife awakens. This time of year provides a really great opportunity to start thinking about the diversity of flowering plant species across the hedgerows that we manage. Observing the hedges across a field, garden or park …

House building efforts in the UK are a constant source of contention. Too many? Too few? Whatever the case, it’s undeniable that development all too often affects our wildlife and the dwindling habitats they rely on to survive. Many of our species in our nature-depleted country are impacted by infrastructure projects. Yet there are measures …

Peat extraction is devastating for biodiversity and the climate If you have ever owned a house plant or planted something in a garden, it was almost certainly grown in a peat-based product. Despite understanding for decades the damage that peat extraction is doing to both biodiversity and the climate, industry-led voluntary efforts have failed to …

An encounter with a dormouse During a recent trip to one of our Nottinghamshire dormouse woodlands I happened to stumble upon another wild dormouse nest. It was hidden amongst a patch of bramble and rose scrub that was winding its way up a hawthorn tree, on the edge of a young coppice compartment. The nest …

Rural populations continue to plummet, with the largest declines in eastern England Urban populations are stable, and may even be recovering thanks to community action Urgent action is now needed to try and bring hedgehogs back to the countryside Today, [Tuesday 22nd February 2022], a new report published by wildlife charities People’s Trust for Endangered …