Thanks to £25,000 funding from Natural England, Norfolk Wildlife Trust, alongside Norfolk Rivers Trust, is embarking on a research project that holds the key to a brighter future for Norfolk's water voles.

Water voles were once commonplace throughout Norfolk's waterways but suffered a dramatic decline in the last half of the twentieth century. A major factor in this was predation by mink, a species which has now largely disappeared across Norfolk.

We've also seen a loss of suitable habitat - water voles need ditches and rivers that have places to burrow and hide, as well as plenty of food from reeds, rushes and bankside vegetation.

The project will first find out more about where small populations of these furry, river-dwelling species currently live within the Wensum and Yare rivers.

Data recorded using surveys and computer models will help identify where new water vole habitat can be created to help the isolated populations reconnect with each other.

Helen Baczkowska, Norfolk Wildlife Trust's Conservation Research and Evidence Manager, explained: 'The recent near eradication of mink in Norfolk creates a unique opportunity to return the species to its former glory throughout Norfolk's waterways.

'Evidence suggests that our remaining water vole populations are found in isolated patches of suitable habitat, unable to move freely throughout our river system.

'By discovering more about where water voles are currently living, we can identify where new habitat needs to be created to provide corridors for water voles to move, and thrive. And everything we do to help our water voles will, in turn, benefit a wide array of other river wildlife and create healthy waterways for our communities to enjoy.'

The new research will inform a series of actions for land managers and decision-makers living and working along the rivers. Norfolk Wildlife Trust will then offer guidance and workshops, bringing communities together to help the charismatic species flourish throughout the county once again.

If you own or manage land in the Yare or Wensum catchments and would like to find out more about what you can do to support water voles on your land, please get in touch with NWT's Wilder Landscapes team: wilderlandscapes@norfolkwildlifetrust.org.uk

This project is funded by Natural England's Enabling Nature Recovery budget; funding designed to cover the costs of research and development activities that can lead to ambitious nature recovery projects that will help to deliver the opportunities identified in the Local Nature Recovery Strategy for Norfolk.