Red Squirrel Recovery Network (RSRN)

Northumberland Wildlife Trust and partners can proudly announce that we have been awarded a fantastic £4.86 million by The National Lottery Heritage Fund for our Red Squirrel Recovery Network (RSRN) project!

Thanks to National Lottery players, this 5-year initiative will help protect and conserve our beloved red squirrels across Northern England and Southern Scotland.

RSRN is an ambitious project which will work at a super-landscape scale to bring about lasting change for red squirrels, who would be lost in 10 years without continuous and extensive conservation effort.

We are at a critical point for the recovery of red squirrels across the UK. For the first time, RSRN will bring together conservation partners and 50+ volunteer groups to work across the Southern Scotland/ Northern England red squirrel range. Due to grey squirrel only areas now firmly established to the north and south of this area, and grey squirrel incursion occurring regularly, red squirrels in this region are extremely vulnerable to extinction.

What will be delivered?

In the initial development stage (first year) of the project, partners worked together to collect baseline data across the project areas on squirrel distribution, grey squirrel management activity and volunteer demographics to establish the current range of volunteers as well as identify opportunities to encourage new volunteers. Conservation and communication plans were developed and emerging science built on to support the delivery of grey squirrel fertility control and the annual squirrel Spring Monitoring Programme (Spring Monitoring Programme). Following the development phase, and upon being awarded the grant from the National Heritage Fund in 2025, the five-year delivery phase has now begun. Some of the deliverables throughout the project will include:

• Building on emerging science to carry out field trials relating to fertility control for grey squirrels and establish new methodologies which are potentially transformative for the future of red squirrels   
• For the first time, employing a dedicated Communications Officer to audiences within and beyond the project area including responding to volunteer requests to increase profile/raise awareness, using new opportunities to build a more resilient supporter base for the red squirrel conservation movement  
• Engaging new audiences within the red squirrel range – involving more volunteers to support existing local groups and building a wider network of engaged and aware people in local communities and the general public  
• Utilising the endearing red squirrel as an opportunity to connect new audiences most in need to explore woodlands, notice nature, develop skills, feel less isolated, connect with their community and, potentially, see one of our most iconic species in its natural habitat. In particular, providing new targeted activities which will benefit communities in South and East Ayrshire, West Cumbria Coast, South East Northumberland and Knowsley
• Working with volunteers and communities in rural areas to understand and monitor the potential impact of pine martens  
• Improving data sharing across the area to build a more coherent picture of current status and likely impact of new game-changing interventions
• Sustaining current conservation efforts, ensuring that decades of investment are not lost just at the time when more sustainable approaches are on the horizon  
• Providing training, equipment and other support to local groups and volunteers at local and regional/national levels  
• Providing small grants for local projects which support local volunteer action (delivered by squirrel groups or other community groups)  
• Working with current and new partners to secure a future for reds and resilient woodlands/forests across the north of England and Southern Scotland – this will include working with partners and landowners to establish new income streams for red squirrel conservation   

Using the information gathered over the development phase, the partnership team will now work with volunteers and landowners to help safeguard and grow the remaining red squirrel population. In addition they will be looking to provide grants to local community groups to enable them to undertake their own red squirrel conservation projects such as engagement activities and squirrel themed events in their project areas.

The project also plans to engage new audiences with the importance of red squirrel conservation and raise awareness of their plight. The project also aims to engage more people with the species to build an even bigger volunteer community and connect people to nature.

A big thank you to The NationalLottery HeritageFund and the players for making this possible!

More information can be found here. Or please contact: info@rsne.org.

Partners and funders

The RSRN project is a partner collaboration; involving NWT, Cumbria Wildlife Trust (CWT), The Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside Wildlife Trust (LWT), Knowsley Safari, Galloway and Southern Ayrshire UNESCO Biosphere, and Bright Green Nature.