Norfolk Wildlife Trust has launched a county wide survey of Norfolk’s garden wildlife and is appealing for help to discover the distribution of five declining species

Norfolk Wildlife Trust education manager, David North explains: “Hedgehogs, song thrushes, house sparrows, slow worms and red-tailed bumblebees are all species which are in decline nationally. We want to discover what sorts of gardens in Norfolk are visited by these animals and then use this information to raise awareness of how people can help to protect these species in their gardens.”

Numbers of house sparrows have fallen by more than 50% in recent decades and bumblebees have declined with three species becoming extinct nationally. Hedgehogs have recently been added to the UK Government's list of species of conservation concern. Norfolk Wildlife Trust in partnership with Norfolk Biological Records Centre, Buglife and Bumblebee Conservation Trust is asking people to record sightings of any of these threatened wildlife species in their garden by filling in the online survey:

click here

or calling 01603 598 333 for a free survey card.

Director of Norfolk Wildlife Trust Brendan Joyce commented: “Gardens can become mini nature reserves and the total area of gardens in Norfolk probably exceeds that of all Norfolk Wildlife Trust’s nature reserves. Gardeners and gardens are key to helping reverse the declines of these species. The Natural Connections surveys have proved very popular so far and we are hoping that even more people will take part in this garden survey. Join in and make your garden wildlife count!”

The survey runs from today until the end of the year. The Natural Connections project received grants from the Heritage Lottery Fund and European Social Fund to support the involvement of local communities in wildlife surveys and conservation projects.

www.norfolkwildlifetrust.org.uk