Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels has a new Project Officer for North East Scotland. Scottish Wildlife Trust’s Hollie Walker is to take forward the national project’s objectives for the area, where grey squirrels are still posing a threat to red squirrels and, if nothing is done, to those in the Highlands too. Grey squirrels are spreading from Aberdeen up the Dee, Don and north-west towards Morayshire. Hollie is part of a Scottish Wildlife Trust-led project which aims to protect major populations of red squirrels spread across Argyll, northern Tayside, the Highlands and North East Scotland by halting the spread of grey squirrels northwards from the Central Belt and outwards from Aberdeen City.
Crucially, the Project intends to achieve an evidence-based understanding of how well targeted grey squirrel control works as a method to secure Scotland’s red squirrel populations. To do this we need to have up-to-date records of the distributions of both species, so Grampian Squirrel Group’s recording community is asked to increase its vigilance for the two squirrel species and report their sightings regularly. We also need people to take on some active surveying for squirrels in key areas. Sightings of BOTH species can be sent to Grampian Squirrel Group via the sightings page on this website. For information about getting involved in surveys, please contact Cecilia at: ceciliarogers@hotmail.com
For more information on Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels, please contact redsquirrelgrampian@swt.org.uk or see the webpage at http://www.swt.org.uk/campaigns/scotlands-red-squirrels/
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