A project to help red squirrels thrive in Cumbria has been given a £158,000 boost.
The cash, from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, will help the Red Squirrel Recovery Network project move forward with its bid for a full grant to pay for large scale grey squirrel fertility control across northern England and southern Scotland.
The five-year project will see Northumberland Wildlife Trust working with Cumbria Wildlife Trust, the Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside, The Southern Uplands Partnership in Scotland and Knowsley Safari Foundation in Prescot in Merseyside.
During a 12-month development phase the countrywide team will develop the methodology for large scale grey squirrel fertility control, plan audience engagement and activity programmes and write a conservation plan.
Team members will also collect data about squirrel presence/absence, grey squirrel management activity and volunteer demographics to establish the current range of volunteers as well as identify opportunities to encourage new volunteers.
There will be an awareness programme to inform people about the relationship between squirrels and pine martens – a natural predator of squirrels, and the impact they may have on both reds and greys.
During the delivery phase the project will establish the governance for a community grant to local community groups allowing them to undertaken their own red squirrel conservation projects.
David Harpley, director of nature recovery at Cumbria Wildlife Trust, said: “We welcome this funding, and we are looking forward to working with local communities on the conservation of red squirrels, which are such an important part of Cumbria’s wildlife.
“Fertility control for grey squirrels has been a long time in development, so it is great to be working towards large scale trials of the technique.”
The news comes as award-winning film-maker Terry Abraham has launched his own quest to help preserve the red squirrel. His new film, Cumbrian Red, aims to raise awareness of the native breed in the county.
