Surveys

Conservation needs you “One of the most important things in conservation is socialisation, awareness and education with the local people” Anna Nekaris, Little Fireface Project In many instances, for conservation to work it has to involve local communities, it has to resolve the conflicts that sometimes arise between wildlife and humans, it has to recognise …

Living with Mammals 2019 launched this week (1st April) and David Wembridge, our Surveys Coordinator, has been getting the word out across BBC local radio. Did you hear him this week? ‘It’s been quite a media whirlwind but the opportunity to talk about the survey and these extraordinary animals on our doorstep is fantastic and …

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 …

The UK’s housing crisis is often high on the news agenda, but this August, a more rustic type of accommodation, home to the UK’s smaller, spikier residents, is taking the spotlight. This week, the first ever national Hedgehog Housing Census has been launched by Hedgehog Street, a nationwide campaign set up by ourselves and the British Hedgehog …

Wood pasture is an important habitat, positively teeming with life and vital to preserve. Characterised by big old trees growing in open pasture-land, wood pastures are often derived from medieval hunting forests and old wooded commons. The splendid trees they often contain are some of the oldest living things in our country, providing a direct …

Did you know that over the last century water voles have experienced the most severe decline of any wild mammal in the UK? In 2015, the People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) launched the first National Water Vole Monitoring Programme (NWVMP). Following two successful years, this May, PTES is once again calling for existing volunteers …

The UK’s first ever black dormouse has been discovered in the Blackdown Hills by National Dormouse Monitoring Programme (NDMP) volunteers. One of Britain’s most threatened mammals, the hazel dormouse (Muscardinus avellanarius) is typically a golden brown colour. In the 1970s, researchers chanced upon a black dormouse in Germany and recently a few more examples were found …

It is estimated that each year one million mammals are killed on UK roads. Although it’s not pleasant to see roadkill, recording sightings of dead mammals is important for conservation. This summer, wildlife charity People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) is asking the public to record sightings of roadkill as part of their ongoing conservation …

Climate change is already reshuffling the UK’s wildlife calendar, and it’s likely this will continue into the future, according to new research published today in the journal Nature. The results suggest that seasonal events -such as the timing of flowering in plants and breeding in birds – are generally more sensitive to temperature change, than …

The results are in! We are delighted by the response to the first year of our National Water Vole Monitoring Programme, with 188 sites surveyed and data submitted online. This was well over our initial target to survey 100 sites in the first year, so a big thank you to everyone who took part and …