Red squirrel awareness week took place from September 30 until October 6, and was a fantastic opportunity for the Yorkshire Arboretum to showcase their work and educate the public about this endangered species.
2023 saw the introduction of three young squirrels, Erike, Hazel and Holly, to the Arboretum. Straight away they were very friendly with visitors and soon got used to breakfast appearing in the mornings. Kits followed later in the year with several litters being born at the Arboretum to the joy and relief of the hard-working team.
Over the autumn and winter, the kits were transferred to other sites, both captive and released into the wild.
Unfortunately, due to a fighting injury, Erike died over the winter. Now the Arboretum has three young girls, Hazel, Holly and one of their young Ginger. The team hope to introduce a new male over the winter so they can get to know one another before the breeding season next year.
For red squirrel awareness week, the team at the Arboretum organised a range of webinars in the Tree Health Centre- each focused on a different theme to share information and encourage action.
The Arboretum have also launched new ways for the public to support their work with red squirrels. They have a range of adoption levels ranging from £30 a year going up to £450 which helps support the centre.
A spokesperson for Yorkshire Arboretum said: “At the moment the girls are getting ready for the winter so tend to be more active than usual but unsurprisingly don’t like the bad weather we’ve been having. Do come over and enjoy the antics of Hazel, Holly and Ginger!
"We have talks at 10.30am in the compound each Tuesday and Saturday through to the end of November (weather dependent), where you can find out more about these adorable and increasingly endangered native species.”
Visit https://www.yorkshirearboretum.org/ for more information.
9. Red squirrel awareness week at Yorkshire Arboretum
in 2023, the breeding programme was extremely successful, exceeding everyone’s expectations with the birth of 14 new kits at the Arboretum. At the end of last year they began rehoming the kits to sites across the country. Photo: Simon Hulme
10. Red squirrel awareness week at Yorkshire Arboretum
The Red Squirrel Enclosure at the Yorkshire Arboretum has been made possible by funding received from The Prince of Wales’s Charitable Fund. Photo: Simon Hulme
11. Red squirrel awareness week at Yorkshire Arboretum
The red squirrel enclosure was designed by Ben Paterson (pictured) and constructed entirely by him and a team of volunteers in 2021 and 2022. Photo: Simon Hulme
12. Red squirrel awareness week at Yorkshire Arboretum
The Red Squirrel Enclosure costs approximately £5000 per year to maintain, covering expenses such as feeding the squirrels, veterinary fees and infrastructure maintenance and development. It is helped to keep running by donations from the public. Photo: Simon Hulme