Wildlife adoptions

Once a familiar sight throughout much of the UK, Britain's native population of Hazel Dormice has fallen by a third since 2000, and has entirely disappeared from 17 English counties.

Our work across the Mendip Living Landscape and on our reserves to install dormouse boxes, monitor populations, as well as restore and enrich woodland and hedgerow is critical to keeping Somerset’s Dormice safe. Ongoing funds are urgently needed to enable us to continue our work.

You can help us by adopting a Dormouse today! 

97% of wildflower meadows have been lost in the UK since the 1940s. These beautiful grasslands support a fantastic variety of plants and provide valuable habitat within which wildlife can successfully feed, breed and travel through.

Somerset is fortunate to have pockets of good-quality grassland remaining. By managing our own nature reserves and working with farmers, communities and other landowners on more sensitive grazing and cutting rotations, and careful hedgerow management, we are able to help secure Somerset’s meadows for the next generation to enjoy.

You can help us by adopting a Wildflower Meadow. 

Despite over 50 years of effort to halt its decline, the Large Blue Butterfly was pronounced extinct in Britain in 1979. Following a successful reintroduction in 1984, Somerset Wildlife Trust’s Green Down Nature Reserve is now home to one of the largest populations of Large Blues!  Its population has increased by 74% from 2015 thanks to targeted scrub clearance and careful grazing of wildflower-rich grasslands – which also helps a huge diversity of wild plants and other insects to thrive!

You can help us continue this work by adopting a Large Blue Butterfly today.

Throughout Somerset, veteran trees like Oak, Ash and Lime are scattered across the landscape. Their large trunks, twisted branches and wear and tear accumulated over the years provide important homes for wildlife. Many ancient trees remain vulnerable and unprotected.

You can help protect Somerset’s Wildlife by adopting an Ancient Tree.

This large and unique bat species has declined by over 90% in the last 100 years and is now rare in the UK. There are only approximately 6,000 Greater Horseshoe in the UK, confined to the South West of England and South Wales.

We provide support to farmers to help maintain grazing, replant and manage hedgerows, introduce cutting programmes and land management techniques that support bat species.

You can help us by adopting a Greater Horseshoe Bat today.