Made possible by National Lottery players, the project aims to protect and conserve populations of red squirrels in the north of England and southern Scotland.

Development funding of £158,600 has been awarded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund to help Northumberland Wildlife Trust and a team of partners progress their plans to apply for a full National Lottery grant at a later date.

Helen Featherstone, Director, England, North at The National Lottery Heritage Fund said:

“Thanks to National Lottery players, we’re delighted to support the development phase of this project that will enable Northumberland Wildlife Trust and its community partners to take a collaborative approach to protect the native red squirrel and give it the best chance of survival.

It is such a magical experience to catch a glimpse of this rare creature - it would be incredible for this to be a more regular occurrence within our natural heritage spaces.”

The five year RSRN project will see Northumberland Wildlife Trust working in partnership with Cumbria Wildlife Trust, Lancashire Wildlife Trust, The Southern Uplands Partnership based in Scotland and Knowsley Safari Foundation in Prescot in Merseyside.

During the 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.

In addition, team members will work together to collect baseline data across the project areas on 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 a public awareness programme to inform the public on 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, provided by the RSRN, to local community groups in the delivery phase enabling them to undertaken their own red squirrel conservation projects.

The UK is at a critical point in the recovery of red squirrels as grey squirrels have driven reds out of the majority of mainland England and parts of Scotland, putting them at risk of extinction. The project will also be working on the establishment of delivery methods for the grey squirrel contraceptive.

The Red Squirrel Recovery Network (RSRN) aims to ensure the future of red squirrels by bringing together conservation partners and volunteer groups across the red squirrel range in southern Scotland and northern England.

The project also plans to engage new audiences, help build a resilient volunteer community, and connect people to nature.

Mike Pratt, Northumberland Wildlife Trust Chief Executive says:

“We are delighted to have been successful in our application for development funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund as we believe the proposed project will make a sustainable long term contribution to preventing the extinction of red squirrels in England and Southern Scotland.

“The development funding will enable us to work closely with our partners and community groups to build strong application for the next round of approval.”