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Welcome to Coquetdale Squirrel Group
We are a small local group of volunteers who are passionate about our red squirrels.
We work in Upper Coquetdale in Beautiful Northumberland helping to conserve our NATIVE RED SQUIRRELS.
We are lucky to live in one of the few remaining parts of England where these enchanting creatures still exist.
For Information about how the north of England is doing in relation to red and grey populations go to the Latest Local Survey here.
Why are our reds so important?
This most beautiful creature, that used to be seen regularly in our gardens is being forced out by the incursion of the North American grey squirrel.
The grey out-competes the red for food and it carries a deadly virus (squirrel pox) that is harmless to itself but almost always a killer when passed on to red squirrels.
Click to find out more of What We Do.
We monitor squirrel activity, both red and grey, recording sightings from members of the public as well as from our members. We set up and maintain feeder boxes and cameras throughout our area. We sadly have to remove greys by trapping in areas of encroachment. We give talks, hold meetings, have fundraising events, have stalls at most of the local shows and offer training and support to anyone interested in getting involved.
All the local red squirrel conservation voluntary groups are members of the umbrella organisation of Northern Red Squirrels (NRS), and all our sightings are reported to Red Squirrels Northern England (RSNE).
For the links to these and other Groups go to Red Squirrel Organisations and Facebook.
Beginnings
Originally back in 2008 a small group of people, concerned that little action was being taken to halt the progress of greys into the valley, formed the Upper Wansbeck and Coquetdale Squirrel Group. Since then many changes have taken place, and as most of our volunteers live in the Coquet Valley we became the Coquetdale Squirrel Group in 2012.
With the help of RSNE, we learned to detect and monitor the presence of reds and greys and what we can do to help the reds. The area we cover is large and sparsely populated which presents many challenges. However we have great hopes that we can build on our intrepid and dedicated band of supporters and squirrel spotters, to halt the decline of our native Red Squirrel.
Now
Our group has now grown and is managed by a committee drawn from our group of volunteers. We meet regularly to compare notes and act upon sightings of greys within the area. We also try to have stalls at all local events to provide advice and guidance; to raise awareness and to fundraise to enable us to continue to help conserve our red population of squirrels. We will soon be applying for registration as a charity and are formulating a plan and strategy for the next 3 years.
There are several ways you can help:-
- By reporting any sightings of both red and grey squirrels.
- By volunteering to help with sightings.
- By putting up and maintaining feeding boxes.
- By helping out on our information and fundraising stalls at local events.
- By helping at our other fundraising events.
- By learning all you can about red and grey squirrels and passing your knowledge on to others.
- By becoming a Supporter of our Group.
- By making a donation