This Christmas, the Countryside Regeneration Trust (CRT) is calling on the community to help protect one of Britain’s most vulnerable mammals – the hazel dormouse.

The charity’s 2025 Christmas Appeal, Shelter Belts for Hazel Dormice, aims to raise £6,000 to fund vital habitat restoration and the installation of footprint monitoring tunnels across six CRT farms, including Green Farm in Farnham and Pierrepont Farm in Frensham. The initiative will help detect and protect dormice before populations decline even further.

Once widespread across England and Wales, hazel dormice have suffered dramatic losses over the past two decades. National surveys show numbers have fallen by 70 per cent since 2000, and the species is now locally extinct in 14 English counties. While still officially classed as ‘vulnerable,’ many researchers believe they should already be considered ‘endangered.’

Ruth Moss, CRT’s conservation and mapping officer, said: “Hazel dormice are bioindicators, sensitive to habitat fragmentation. When they are present, it signals a healthy ecosystem for bats, butterflies, birds and amphibians. Through this appeal, we hope to reconnect fragmented habitats and detect where dormice live so we can improve conditions across our farms.”

Funds raised will support two key projects: installing 250 footprint tunnels across CRT farms in Surrey, Herefordshire and Dorset, and creating a new wildlife corridor at Turnastone Court Farm in Herefordshire. The shelter belt will link existing woodlands, giving dormice safer travel routes while also supporting birds, insects, other mammals and livestock.

Each £5 donation can buy a footprint tunnel, helping the conservation team and volunteers monitor dormice without disturbing them. Larger gifts will help create the shelter belt, benefiting an even wider range of species across the farms.

Every contribution, no matter how small, helps protect dormice and the wildlife that shares their precious habitats.