Our work with water voles in Cornwall is only just beginning. We’ve currently released 300+ water voles across 3 reintroductions, but we’re looking to scale up our work across the rest of Cornwall. With your continued support, we can develop and expand our activities to reintroduce water voles to more areas, monitor and protect our existing reintroductions, and educate and inspire people about our work.

Please support our appeal today to help water vole populations to recover in Cornwall, providing benefits not only to birds and mammals, but also to plant diversity.

Your donation will help us to:

• Work with landowners to survey areas suitable for water vole releases.

• Undertake ecological surveys to assess the suitability and management needs of these sites.

• Restore and protect the habitat in these areas.

• Commission captive breeding programmes to supply water voles for reintroduction into suitable areas.

• Continuously survey water voles in Cornwall to identify population trends.

• Create new ponds to increase the available habitat for water voles.

• Organise and host educational talks and visits.

• Work with landowners to monitor for American mink.

• Provide regular updates across our social media platforms and on our website.

Water voles are a fantastic source of food for birds such as grey heron, barn owl and kestrel. By restoring water vole populations in the county, we will help these species to recover and thrive.

Water voles are also a great source of food for mammals such as stoat, fox and otter. Restored water vole populations we will also help these species to recover and thrive.

Left unchecked, the edges of ponds, lakes, streams and rivers in Cornwall tend to become overgrown. Water voles eat up to a third of their body weight a day and consume 227 different species of plants. Through this grazing behaviour, dominant plant species are grazed upon, increasing the diversity of plants. In addition, the burrows water voles dig in banks helps to aerate the soil, increasing microbial activity and soil health.

 Thank you for your support, every donation will make a huge difference to our work with water voles in Cornwall.