Farm project boost for threatened water voles

The Co-operative Farms has been working with Yorkshire Wildlife Trust to survey its estate in Goole, where a team of “habitat heroes” was set up to help preserve the protected water voles.

As part of efforts to help wildlife, the farm has been staggering its ditch management and clearance programmes to give the voles the chance to relocate before their homes are affected.

The survey has turned up 10 new water vole populations, as well as wildlife ranging from roe deer and hares to buzzards, grass snakes and kestrels.

Euan Fraser, farm manager at Goole, said: “We have worked closely with Yorkshire Wildlife Trust to get the habitat heroes project up and running and look at ways we can really make our land work for local wildlife.

“The fact that 10 new water vole populations have been found on the estate is amazing, along with a diverse range of other wildlife, which shows our ditch management programme is making a real difference to the environment and helping to safeguard these protected mammals.”

Carys Hutton, assistant project officer at Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, said evidence of the new populations was “a great indicator that water vole populations are establishing themselves and are growing”.