VWTImpactReport28Oct2025PT - Flipbook - Page 23
Why is there a need?
Involving local communities in hands-on conservation,
our projects foster a sense of ownership and
responsibility for long-term species protection. By
engaging interested parties from the outset with
reintroduction projects, we have addressed concerns,
provided information and developed mitigation
strategies. Local knowledge facilitated better decisionmaking, such as identifying suitable reintroduction
sites and predicting potential human–wildlife con昀氀icts.
This was due to meaningful community engagement
throughout, responsive communication and working
within the local context.
“
Vincent Wildlife Trust has taken social
research seriously as an important part
of conservation science, particularly
in relation to social feasibility and
community engagement.
Dr Sarah Crowley, University of Exeter;
Senior Lecturer
©Daniel Hargreaves
Working with partners to inspire people in our work
on bat reserves was essential for a 2021 campaign to
purchase and restore a derelict building into a suitable
maternity roost for greater horseshoe bats. We have
since engaged volunteers and landowners in the
Horseshoes Heading East project, with landowners
allowing the restoration of old buildings to create new
roosts for bats, and a dedicated team of local volunteers
helping with roost enhancements.
How did VWT make an impact?
VWT is not a membership organisation and historically
did not formally recruit volunteers. Recognising the value
of volunteering, we have incorporated volunteering and
community engagement over the last 14 years. More than
300 volunteers now support the monitoring, maintenance
and enhancement of sites across 昀椀ve bat projects in
England, Wales and Ireland.
In 2024 we launched Martens on the Move to raise
awareness of pine martens as they continue to recover
and expand into new areas. The project will improve local
habitat and monitor population expansion by involving local
communities and landowners, increasing knowledge and
understanding, and involving them in practical action.
VWT increasingly works with other specialist organisations
to increase conservation impact and act as a catalyst for
mammal conservation. From 2011 to 2014, Mammals in a
Sustainable Environment (MISE) was a large collaborative
initiative focused on conserving European mammal species
by engaging local communities in monitoring and habitat
management in Wales and Ireland. Workshops trained
volunteers to collect data on key species, including otters,
red squirrels, bats and pine martens, and to use tracking
techniques such as hair tubes, trail cameras and DNA analysis
from scat samples. By involving communities in hands-on
conservation, the project fostered a sense of ownership and
responsibility for protecting native mammals.
The Our Beacon for Bats project engaged local communities
— volunteers, advocates and landowners — to raise the
pro昀椀le of the lesser horseshoe bat and contribute to its longterm conservation in the upper Usk Valley. We worked with
schools and the public to educate and raise awareness,
trained volunteers and citizen scientists to identify and
survey for lesser horseshoe bats, produced a ‘BatMap’
using the data collected, and enhanced habitats,
including planting 11,800 trees.
Vincent Wildlife Trust 50 Years Impact Report 2025
23
