Ecological research

The project modelled the ecological impact of grey squirrel population management. Survey and trapping data collected by conservation teams was standardised and analysed by the Red Squirrels United research team.

This allowed Red Squirrels United to:

Inform best practice in grey squirrel removal by quantifying effectiveness

Evaluate the impact of control on grey squirrel abundance

Provide recommendations to inform future red squirrel conservation and grey squirrel management

Social research

Red Squirrels United evaluated the impact of grey squirrel population management on public attitudes towards red squirrel conservation. Regular workshops with volunteers, the public, project partners and other organisations were held by the research team.

This allowed Red Squirrels United to:

Understand whether attitudes towards grey squirrel control are changing

Better engage with volunteers and members of the community

Provide recommendations to inform future invasive species management programmes

Research outputs are regularly shared with conservation teams to help them to plan their next steps and inform the action being taken in and around each of the nine red squirrel strongholds. You can read about these on the resource page.