Press invite – Wildwood Community Harvest Mouse Hunt
Sunday 6th March

Wildwood Trust, Kent’s unique British wildlife park and conservation charity, is holding an amazing Community Harvest Mouse Hunt in the Herne Bay/Whitstable area on Sunday 6^th March.

The community-based event, thought to be the first of its kind in Kent, is part of The Kent Harvest mouse project; Wildwood’s ambitious conservation initiative to compile a complete record of harvest mouse populations throughout the county.

In the true spirit of 'Citizen Science', Wildwood is asking people from all backgrounds to come along, have some fun and help in the search, as well as to learn all about these beautiful creatures.

Volunteers will:

- Help to search for evidence of harvest mice and record their findings.

- Have a chance to meet a tiny harvest mouse, Britain’s smallest rodent.

- See examples of harvest mouse nests.

- Learn all about the lives of harvest mice.

- Discover the natural history of their local area.

Project coordinator, Steve Kirk said “We are so excited about hosting this community event. It will be a fantastic day for anyone who wants to learn about the wildlife on their doorstep and help us in our work to save the harvest mouse.”

The event is completely free and people of all ages and experience are welcome. Training will be given on how to survey for harvest mice and above all, Wildwood wants all of the volunteers to have lots of fun and learn about the wildlife living in their local area.

About the Kent Harvest Mouse Survey

The tiny harvest mouse is the least studied; and therefore the least understood, of all British mice. Due to their small size, they are rarely observed and difficult to accurately monitor in the wild. Experts believe that the species may be in decline but without more data on their distribution this is difficult to prove.

Funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Kent Harvest Mouse Survey is a 'Citizen Science' project, which aims to enable communities in Kent to get involved in assessing the distribution of harvest mice across the whole county (possibly to create a model to replicate in other areas). This data is essential for conservationists in order to best decide how to help the species in the future.

The 4-year project aims to involve a total of around 600 volunteers (from different demographic groups i.e. not just conservation experts) across different parts of Kent. So far Wildwood has been working with a variety of individual volunteers, and hopes that this new community-based event will help to engage an even wider audience.

Press are welcome to come along and cover the event:

Sunday 6th March

10.30am – 12.30pm (approx. finish time)

Meet near the Tankerton Skate Park on Marine Parade (Swalecliffe end)

For more info please call Wildwood Trust on 01227 712 111

For more information about Wildwood Trust and the Kent Harvest Mouse Survey, please visit: www.wildwoodtrust.org

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RELATED CONTENT

To download the images at the top of this email, visit our Dropbox account (folder: Harvest Mice):

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email:news@wildwoodtrust.org
pword: wildwoodpics

CONTACT
Wildwood Trust: +44(0)1227 712 111

Fiona Paterson – fiona@wildwoodtrust.org

Wildwood Trust, Herne Common, Herne Bay, Nr Canterbury, Kent CT6 7L

Registered Charity No. 1093702

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EDITOR'S NOTES

About Wildwood Trust
Wildwood Trust opened in 1999 as a centre of excellence for the conservation of British wildlife, and was established as a registered charity in 2002. Wildwood is Kent's best British wildlife park. Home to over 200 native animals, past and present and set in 40 acres of beautiful ancient woodland, see wolves, bison, deer, owls, foxes, red squirrels, wild boar, lynx, wild horses, badgers and beavers plus many more. As one of the leading British animal conservation charities in the UK Wildwood Trust is dedicated to saving Britain's most threatened wildlife. Wildwood Trust have taken part in many ground-breaking conservation programmes to date, which include, saving the water vole, using wild horses to help restore Kent's most precious nature reserves, bringing the extinct European beaver back to Britain and returning the hazel dormouse & red squirrel to areas where they have been made extinct.

About the Heritage Lottery Fund
Thanks to National Lottery players, we invest money to help people across the UK explore, enjoy and protect the heritage they care about - from the archaeology under our feet to the historic parks and buildings we love, from precious memories and collections to rare wildlife. www.hlf.org.uk @heritagelottery

Fiona Paterson
Wildwood Trust
Email: fiona@wildwoodtrust.org – Tel: 01227 712111

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Tuesday 1 March 2016