NATURE-lovers are being asked to use spare time at home during the lockdown to help out with a wildlife survey.

The People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) needs volunteers to record sightings of wild mammals – or the signs they leave behind, such as footprints and droppings.

Data collected during the Living with Mammals survey will help conservationists to understand how the numbers of species such as deer, hedgehogs, rabbits and hares are changing.

David Wembridge, Mammal Surveys coordinator at PTES, said: “Living with Mammals” is something positive we can do at a difficult time and while we all stay in, we hope people will take the opportunity to appreciate their wild neighbours.’

Volunteers are asked to spend a little time each week observing what they see in their garden, and to report their sightings online at www.ptes.org/LwM .

David continues: ’Towns and cities are busy, noisy places, but it’s here that most of us live and encounter nature day-to-day. We know the importance of connecting to nature for our own health and wellbeing, and by monitoring wild mammals, it gives us an indication of the ‘green health’ of a town, city or village.’

The results of the survey to date offer a glimmer of hope for hedgehogs, whose numbers in urban areas and more widely, have been declining for at least 20 years. Recent data from Living with Mammals suggests hedgehog numbers may have picked up, but more records are still needed in order to find out exactly how each of Britain’s mammal species are faring.

’Surveys like Living with Mammals, which run annually, are the only way to tell if our conservation work is working, and where it’s needed. To date over 3,000 gardens across Britain have been surveyed by volunteers, which is fantastic, but we still need more records to help us understand, and encourage, the wild mammals on our doorstep.’