Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels (SSRS), the first nationally co-ordinated partnership project led by the Scottish Wildlife Trust (SWT) which aims to protect Scotland’s only native squirrel species, has announced the appointment of a new leader in North East Scotland today (20 July).
Hollie Walker, the new SSRS North East Scotland Project Officer, has been tasked with driving forward project work on the ground in the city of Aberdeen, rural Aberdeenshire and Moray, including raising awareness for the red squirrels’ plight, advising landowners on the best habitat management techniques to help red squirrels thrive and leading a co-ordinated and strategic approach to grey squirrel control.
Walker said: “Conservation work is my passion and my new role gives me the opportunity to make a real difference to the survival of an iconic native species in Scotland. We are lucky here in the Grampian region to still have a strong population of red squirrels, and we must act now to protect them.”
Red squirrels are under threat largely due to the expansion of grey squirrels, a North American non-native species which is spreading northwards from the Central Belt and outwards from Aberdeen. Experts predict that if nothing is done the red squirrel could be extinct from mainland Scotland within a lifespan.
Walker explained: “The presence of grey squirrels is the main cause of the red squirrel decline we are seeing in the northeast. With greys out-competing reds for food and habitat the two cannot coexist and grey squirrel presence always results in red squirrel numbers declining to the point of extinction, a sad fact which has already occurred across central Scotland.
“This project will work towards improving Grampian’s woodlands in order to help red squirrels thrive, but habitat management alone is not enough in the short-term. Our project must undertake targeted grey squirrel control to halt the spread of grey squirrels and allow red squirrel populations to recover and expand. In Aberdeen, grey squirrels, concentrated in the city centre, are spreading up the rivers Dee and Don and northwest towards Morayshire, an area currently free of the species. Greys are also spreading northwards from Angus and the Central Belt. If we allow this expansion to continue we are jeopardising the existence of red squirrels across the whole of north Scotland.
“I am already busy meeting landowners, foresters, gamekeepers and council rangers in our ‘target zones’, where we aim to establish a network of landholdings all working together to achieve red squirrel conservation through grey squirrel control and habitat improvements. Achieving a unified approach will help us form a barrier against the spread of grey squirrels.
“This is a big job and I hope the public will fully support me and the project in the North East. There is so much you can do to help save red squirrels, including reporting sightings of both grey and red squirrels at www.grampiansquirrelgroup.co.uk, helping with surveys or donating to our project at www.swt.org.uk.”
Dr Mel Tonkin, SSRS Project Manager, said: “Our proposed work in Aberdeen has stirred up a lot of local interest and today I’d like to set the record straight. Our work in the city will begin a programme of targeted grey squirrel control which will focus on protecting the city’s remaining red squirrels and preventing greys from spreading out into rural Aberdeenshire. We will also begin to clear space to allow red squirrel populations to expand. Ultimately, we would like to see the complete removal of grey squirrels from Aberdeen city to allow the red squirrels to return, which we would expect to see happen fairly quickly thereafter. However we are running a three-year project with limited funds and our present aim is to determine whether targeted grey squirrel control is an effective way to save red squirrels. Our outcomes will inform future strategies on red squirrel conservation.
“Across the rest of Scotland we will be halting the spread of greys from the Central Belt through targeted control across Tayside and Angus as well as supporting our sister project, Red Squirrels in South Scotland (RSSS), which works to stem the spread of squirrel pox, a virus fatal to reds but harmless to grey squirrels which carry and spread it to red squirrels.
“Our critics may claim that it is not necessary to control greys to save the red squirrel, and that the reds can be saved through other solutions such as habitat management. If this were the case we would certainly not be embarking on our planned course of action. There are no viable alternative solutions to saving the red squirrel in Scotland at this time. Developments such as a squirrel pox vaccine and contraceptives might help in future but it will be a long time before they are developed in an effective and affordable way. Habitat improvements are a key component of our longer term strategy but it is not enough in the short-term. To do nothing now will certainly consign our native squirrel decline towards virtual extinction in Scotland.
“Hollie is a welcome addition to the team, joining Tayside Project Officer, Ken Neil, to co-ordinate project work on the ground.”
SSRS is a partnership project between Scottish Wildlife Trust (SWT), Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), Forestry Commission Scotland (FCS) and the Scottish Rural Property and Business Association (SRPBA).
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For more information, please contact:
Nicola McGovern
PR Officer, Scottish Wildlife Trust
0131 312 4742
Notes to Editors
• Hollie (24) is orginally from Worthing in West Sussex. After completing a degree in Envirnmental Science at the University of Brighton (where she achieved a 2:1 honours qualification), Hollie volunteered in South Africa for three months, helping to run a research camp for university students on a game reserve. She returned to the UK and relocated to Aberdeen where she worked as the PA to the director of the Marine Department and administration assistant for the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, before becoming the Project Officer for Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels.
• Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels aims to stop the decline of red squirrel populations in key areas of Scotland north of the Central Belt and to improve conditions for viable red squirrel populations across Scotland. It is a partnership project between the Scottish Wildlife Trust, Scottish Natural Heritage, Forestry Commission Scotland and the Scottish Rural Property and Business Association. It is part of Scotland’s Species Action Framework, which sets out a strategic approach to species management in Scotland. For more information, visit www.swt.org.uk.
• The Scottish Wildlife Trust (SWT) is a registered charity. It is the largest voluntary body working for all the wildlife of Scotland, representing more than 34,000 members who care for wildlife and the environment. SWT seeks to raise public awareness of threatened habitats and species and manages over 120 wildlife reserves Scotland-wide. www.swt.org.uk
• Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) is the Scottish Government’s statutory advisor on the conservation, enhancement, enjoyment, understanding and sustainable use of the natural heritage. For further information on SNH, please visit www.snh.org.uk. SNH is a funding partner of the project.
• Forestry Commission Scotland (FCS) serves as the forestry directorate of the Scottish Government, advising on and implementing forestry policy and managing the national forest estate. FCS is ensuring that the national forest estate plays its part in delivering the aims of project Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels.
• The Scottish Rural Property and Business Association (SRPBA) is the leading representative body for all land and rural property owners and land-based businesses in Scotland. It is a membership organisation comprising rural entrepreneurs, individuals and businesses that operate in rural Scotland. www.srpba.com
• In addition to contributions from the project partners, the work of SSRS in the North East is currently funded by the Aberdeen Greenspace Trust, LEADER, and the Red Squirrel Survival Trust.
• Aberdeen Greenspace Trust Limited works with individuals, communities, businesses and organisations in and around the city of Aberdeen to develop access, increase biodiversity, carry out landscape improvements and provide information and interpretation. The trust is supported by Aberdeen City Council, Forestry Commission Scotland and Scottish Natural Heritage, all of whom nominate Directors to the trust. The company is enrolled as an Environmental Body with ENTRUST (Environmental Trust Scheme Regulatory Body), the government’s Landfill Community Fund Regulator.
• LEADER is an innovative rural development programme which aims to improve the quality of life and economic prosperity in rural communities through locally driven rural development initiatives and projects. In Aberdeenshire, LEADER is delivered by the Rural Aberdeenshire LAG to rural areas and communities with populations of up to 5,000. The Rural Aberdeenshire LAG is a Public/Private partnership comprising fourteen member organisations and focuses on two key themes, namely Revitalising Communities and Progressive Rural Economy.
• The Red Squirrel Survival Trust (RSST), whose Patron is HRH The Prince of Wales, is a UK charity established to ensure the conservation and protection of the red squirrel in the UK. RSST works in partnership with dedicated and knowledgeable local groups and projects around the country. RSST is providing support to the North East component of the Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels (SSRS) project. This is part of RSST’s wider scheme to protect the red squirrels of Scotland – RSST also supports RSSS.
• Red Squirrels in South Scotland Project (RSSS) works to stem the spread of pox carrying grey squirrels in south Scotland for the protection of red squirrels and is the sister project to SSRS. Squirrelpox is a virus fatal to red squirrels but harmless to the grey squirrels which carry and spread it. Grey squirrels migrating north from Cumbria are bringing squirrelpox to Scotland. The work of RSSS is therefore essential to Scotland’s red squirrel population as a whole and to maintain southern Scotland as a stronghold for our native red. RSSS has been conducting and promoting grey squirrel control since 2000. www.redsquirrels.org.uk.
• Grampian Squirrel Group has exisited for about 9 years in various forms and throughout that time has been working to help protect the red squirrel in Grampian from its grey cousin and envirommental degradation. It consists of a dedicated group of volunteers who have been helping to promote the red squirrels plight and to recruit like minded people to conduct formal surveys in red habitat. www.grampiansquirrelgroup.co.uk.