Squirrels on TV

My career took an exciting step forward recently, thanks to the ever delightful red squirrel. This adorable creature was to be featured on the BBC's popular Autumnwatch television programme, so someone was required to be interviewed. I was called in to be that person!
I was told I'd be interviewed by presenter Kate Humble, who I've always thought had the best job ever (second only to being a Blue Peter Presenter) and who is something of an inspiration to me. So it was with mixed feelings of nervousness, excitment and fear of being star-struck, that I arrived at Dodd Wood, near Bassenthwaite Lake, Cumbria, to film.

Kate immediately introduced herself and was very friendly, so put me at my ease. We had a quick chat "off camera" (look at me with all the lingo!) to go through some of the things she'd be asking. All we needed now were some squirrels and for it to stop raining! Luckliy we got both.

We were filming at a feeding station, so the squirrels were very keen to get their breakfast, even with these odd people hanging around right next to them. There were usually 2 or 3 reds right by us for the whole time the cameras were rolling. They obligingly scampered about, buried the food or sat looking picture-book cute on the tree stump where the nuts had been put.

We must have got about an hour and a half's worth of footage, but the final version, of course, was much shorter -maybe 5 minutes, so much of what I wanted to say was edited out. However, I was very pleased to get the chance to set the record straight to such a big audience (the programme has viewing figures of about 4 million people). The grey squirrel is often demonised, and portrayed as a "bad" animal. It really isn't. Its just in the wrong place. In its own, carefully balanced ecosystem, it is as enigmatic and entertaining as our red. Having said that, I also wanted to get across just how vital it is to control their numbers here in the North of England, or we undoubtedly will lose the native species.
So my TV debut was a big sucess. I've had lots of positive feedback from people about it, so I must have said something right! Even Kate said I did a good job, which made my day!

My role in red squirrel conservation is always challenging, but never dull. I love my job!

The Joys of Spring

My two guinea pigs gave birth a couple of days ago to four of the sweetest babies you've ever seen. It struck me how different a newborn guinea pig is from a newborn red squirrel. Despite them both being small rodents, the young are born at quite different stages of development.

My little piggies, ("pups" I'm informed they are called) came out as complete animals, all covered in fur, open-eyed and ready to go. The newborn squirrel, or "kitten", is at the other end of the scale. Not only are they hairless and blind like mice, but they are also deaf. They are just tiny cocktail sausages, totally reliant on mum for everything.

My latest additions to the family are already eating grass at just two days old! They are of course still drinking mum's milk, but I think they are incredible.

How is it that two such closely related animals have evolved such different strategies for their young? One thought is that, having seen a heavily pregnant guinea pig waddle round the hutch and up and down the ramp, there's no way she'd be able to climb a tree! Perhaps the pressure of need to get out of the way by climbing is enough to offset the vulnerability of the tiny kitten.

The Power of the Internet

I was thinking about how I could get people to see this blog and was running through all the places I could put it. It struck me how powerful the internet is. I know that seems like an obvious thing to say, but every now and then it hits me as to all the things that are possible now that simply weren't in very recent times.

We, the Save our Squirrels project, and the conservation world at large, use a variety of ways to get our message out there. For example we have our own website - of course, that's what everyone expects. We also use Facebook, links from other websites, online newspapers and the charity search engine Everyclick. A huge amount of what we have been able to do is also down to the invention of emails.

Funny how the march of progress which has caused so much distruction of the world, is the very thing that allows us to pull it back from the brink.

Approaches to Fundraising

Today's post finds me reporting on and pondering how a project like ours finds the money to operate.

It has been triggered by a new opportunity that has landed in our lap - text donations from a mobile phone (cellphone).

As of next week (from 18th June 2009 ish), all being well, people will be able to text "RED" to 81400 and be able to donate to the Save our Squirrels project. For the small cost of £1.50 plus the standard network rate, approximately £1 will be added to the coffers.

This scheme has been popular for some time now amongst the UK television channels, with special programmes such as Red Nose Day's climbing Kilamajaro challenge. The concept is simple and has the potential to raise serious cash - provided the number is advertised widely enough, for which an "investment" in marketing is required.

The traditional routes for raising cash such as collecting tins, selling merchandise (pens, fluffy toys, mugs etc) and becoming a membership organisation are all good, but time consuming and with minimal return.

Big money for conservation projects comes from putting in bids to funding bodies such as the Heritage Lottery Fund, and through schemes such as landfill tax. Our project, for instance got in the region of £600,000 from HLF over 3 years. This money, however, comes with strings attached.

Although you can get big bucks, you have to apply for it. That application has to meet strict criteria and you have to state clearly from the outset exactly how you will spend the money. HLF in particular required detailed targets that we needed to hit in order to get the money, so our work is restricted to working towards those targets.

Another route to follow to fund a conservation project is to work with lots of partner organisations - other charities, government bodies and corporate businesses who will agree to all put in money or gift in kind, such as providing office space, staff time or equipment for free or a reduced fee. Of course, there will be strings here too as they will want something out of it too, usually good PR and their logos splashed all over any leaflets, websites, press releases etc etc.

Its a complicated affair, but with the right combination of the above you can achieve a great deal.

Shopping saves squirrels!

Just for a bit of fun I thought I'd put some links on here to places you can go to buy everything from coat racks to beer with money going back into red squirrel conservation.

This is for all you shopaholics - now its not just fun, its practically your duty to shop!

Bags


Cotton bags


1. http://www.heatoncooper.co.uk/eshop1/product.php?xProd=1195

2. http://www.saveoursquirrels.org/pge/support_us/merchandise.html (this link also takes you to a page where you can buy coffee, stationary, postcards, badges, fluffy toy squirrels, frisbees and a hand puppet! Christmas cards are also available from this link during December, too.)

Beer





http://www.redsquirrelshop.co.uk/rsbshop/prod_352950-Red-Squirrel-Conservation-Bitter-x12-41.html





Brewery tours


Keswick Brewery, Keswick, Cumbria, England.http://www.keswickbrewery.co.uk/brewery-tours/brewery-tours.html





Coat rack


http://www.utilitydesign.co.uk/mall/productpage.cfm/UtilityDesign/_PLUSQU/-/Squirrel%20Coat%20Rack



Holidays

The following link takes you to the Tourism and Conservation Partnership website. This organisation links businesses with conservation projects, so the linked page shows which businesses support red squirrel conservation. Many of these are hotels or Bed and Breakfasts in Cumbria. (Its a Cumbrian company)There's a good chance that you'll see red squigs in the grounds of these places too, if you go and stay there!

http://www.ourstolookafter.co.uk/pages/projects/squirrel.htm

Day 2 - So many squirrel organisations!

There are simply a huge number of different organisations working in England, Scotland and Wales working to protect the red squirrel. When I first started my job in this field, about 2 years ago, I thought "how am I ever going to remember who they all are?!"

It doesn't help that they are generally referred to by their acronyms, which almost always have an "RS" (red squirrel!) in it somewhere.

To give a few examples we have:

RSST - Red Squirrel Survival Trust. New kids on the block - launched recently (April 3rd 2009). A charity set up predominantly to provide funding for rs conservation in the UK.

RSSS - Red Squirrels in South Scotland - as its name suggests, the Scottish squirrel project!

RSPP - Red Squirrel Protection Partnership - one of the more controversial projects, now inactive I think. Began in about 2006/7 to undertake grey control in Northumberland (a county in the north of England)

P&DRSG - Penrith and District Red Squirrel Group - a volunteer run charity working in the Penrith area of Cumbria (another North of England county) doing grey control and raising awareness.

ESI - European Squirrel Initiative - the European side of red squig cons.

NRS - Northern Red Squirrels - A loose umbrella organisation that the numerous local volunteer groups, such as P&DRSG, can be grouped under.

SoS - Save our Squirrels - the project I work for. A publically funded (as opposed to government funded) project based in the North of England. An initial 3 years of funding was granted by HLF and some other organisations, which is nearly up. We're looking to get more funding to continue. We are the UK's largest species conservation organisation...with a grand total of 8 full time members of staff to cover the whole of the North of England. A tough job. www.saveoursquirrels.org

There are a million more out there, all of which have different goals, aims and way of working. Trying to bring everyone in together and pulling in the same direction is a more challenging task than the conservation work itself.

As I said before, the subject of red squirrels is one that triggers passion, obsession, and fierce ideas on what should be done in equal measures. The cold, logical science behind strategies doesn't always agree with the passion, and so sparks fly and rifts are created.

Day 1, part 2 Squirrel video clip and public opinion

Its not all doom and death. The work I do involves working with a wide variety of people to encourage support for the cause and to provide enough information about the conservation stragtegies and methods for them to be able to make their own minds up about whether or not they agree with grey control.

I firmly believe that everyone has the right to agree or disagree with the issue, but that they can only do this with all the information from both sides.

The previous video clip was quite shocking, but the next one is a light hearted look at red squirrel lifestyle and habits. Its a fun one for kids too.