The People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) wants volunteers to take part in its annual survey of water voles, the UK’s fastest declining mammal, to find out where they are living and where they are most in need of conservation action.

To help save this species, volunteers are asked to do a survey between April 15 and June 15. Once a site has been chosen, or a new site registered, it just needs to be surveyed once and all sightings and signs of water voles along a 500m length of riverbank recorded online.

Volunteers need to register at www.ptes.org/watervoles and enter their postcode to find the closest survey site or register a suitable site near where they live. No previous experience is required, but those taking part will need to learn how to identify water voles and their signs, information about which is also on the website.