A bespoke enclosure has been prepared in a secret location and micro-chipped animals will be released in stages to see how they disperse through farmland habitats. Of course, to the leyperson this all sounds rather mad - so why are we doing it?
Well the consensus of opinion amongst ecologists in Britain is that our countryside is broken - woodland, wetland and grassland habitats are small in size and remain poorly connected which puts our native wildlife at risk. Thankfully, tenure of environmental stewardship grants mean that sympathetic land managers and farmers can repair this damage by creating linking 'nodes' (for example, by gapping up or planting new hedges) or enhancing existing habitat 'patches', yet the impact of this land management approach on certain wildlife groups is poorly understood.
So this is where our project comes in!
Check back over the next few weeks to see how our released mammals get on!
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| Spot the harvest mouse! |
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| Researcher Emily lends a released mouse a helping hand! |
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