· Red squirrels close to extinction in the UK as just 287,000 remain
· National Lottery Scratchcard winners volunteer their time to preserve habitats and monitor red squirrel population numbers following £5M National Lottery funding boost
· Without urgent action red squirrels could disappear in less than a decade
National Lottery Scratchcard winners from across the country have been playing an important role in helping to preserve the UK’s endangered red squirrel population.
The Red Squirrel Recovery Network, in Northumberland, which has received more than £5M in National Lottery funding, is focussed on securing a long-term future for red squirrels. Without urgent action now, the declining population could completely disappear within 10 years.
It is estimated there are just 287,000 red squirrels remaining in this country and this figure is declining every year. This compares to a population of more than 2.7 million grey squirrels.
The group of winners, who regularly support good causes and a variety of charities throughout the year, spent the day at Hauxley Wildlife Discovery Centre near Amble, working with the Red Squirrel Recovery Network team.
The Scratchcard winners were joined by other National Lottery winners from across the country and all dedicated their time to preparing the best possible environments for red squirrels to thrive; installing a specialist camera enabling the population to be closely monitored; building feeders to donate to local squirrel groups and managing woodland through checking tree health and thinning.
Abbie McQueen from the Red Squirrel Recovery Network said, “The work which winners have helped with will support local volunteer groups in the area who undertake the majority of red squirrel conservation work, while also supporting healthy red squirrel habitats.
“Both the funding which we have received from The National Lottery and the hard work from all of the winners is crucial for helping to preserve this declining population.
“Without support like this, we could literally lose all of our red squirrels in less than a decade. The work which has been carried out to protect and expand red squirrel habitat and ensure the area is attractive to the red squirrels is essential.”
The work by winners marked a key anniversary as The National Lottery celebrates three decades since the launch of Scratchcards.
Kate Donaghey, from Newcastle, who won £1M on a National Lottery Scratchcard with husband, Darren, was among the winners taking part on the day.
She added, “It has been wonderful to spend a day learning more about red squirrels and in particular what we can do to protect them and prevent them becoming extinct and disappearing from our planet.
“They are beautiful creatures and it is important we do all we can to preserve them for generations to come.”
Other National Lottery Scratchcard winners joining Kate and Darren, included: Ian and Sandra Black, from Cumbria, who won £2M and Natalie and Andrew Cunliffe, from Blackpool, who won £1M.
And building up the National Lottery winner army were Alex and Liana Best, from Leeds, who won £1M on EuroMillions; Elaine and Derek Thompson from Newcastle, who won £2.7M on Lotto; Gary Henry, from Durham, who won £4.4M on Lotto; Ceri and Paul Roscoe-Roberts, from North Wales, who won £1M on EuroMillions and Sarah and Aldan Ibbetson, from Leeds, who won £3.1M on Lotto.
Further details on what you can do to help to preserve red squirrels is available from: https://www.nwt.org.uk/what-we-do/projects/rsrn