Founder member of the Bedlington & District Red Squirrel Group, Carole juggles full-time caring with working to ensure the survival of the red squirrel population in the Bedlington area of Northumberland.
Having grown up the youngest of six children in the fishing town of Fraserburgh, north of Aberdeen, Carole was familiar with red squirrels. She didn’t discover red squirrels in Bedlington, where she had moved after marrying her husband in 2003, until 2017 after she nearly ran one over as it was crossing the road. Further investigation confirmed that there was a good number around, easily sighted in Bedlington’s Gallagher Park.
Over the period of the pandemic, the presence of greys grew more evident and then Carole spotted a sickly red squirrel at one of the Gallagher Park feeders. This was followed by news of several red squirrel deaths. The Morpeth & District Red Squirrel group simply didn’t have the numbers to help but they did persuade the park volunteers to remove the feeders. Much to Carole’s distress, it was too late for Cheeky, one of her favourite photographic models.
With support from Leon Savage and the Cramlington & District Red Squirrel Group, who trained them in all aspects of the work involved, Carole formed the Bedlington & District Red Squirrel group with Paul Brannan in March 2022.
Carole and Paul were soon joined by some expert trappers and volunteers to help cover an area of some 35 km². Eighteen months later, after the Morpeth group was wound down, this became 130 km². The original ten is now a group of around 30 volunteers.
Carole’s passionate advocacy has garnered support from local councils, the Natural History Society of Northumbria and local Scout groups, extending the reach of the group and expanding the volunteer force.
Paul Brannan who nominated Carole for the Award says of her “Carole is one of the most remarkable people I have met and certainly the most dedicated red squirrel volunteer I have encountered. There are times when she has been up most of the night helping her husband deal with illness but she will be out in the woods whilst most of us are asleep.”
Carole’s response to being given the Award was “I enjoyed the visits to the woods with my camera for some ‘me time’, first discovering the reds and then getting to know them. This time really helped me cope with everything going on, so I feel I owe it to them to give something back. Seeing the reds every day and seeing them begin to start appearing where they’ve not been seen before is absolutely the best thing there is.“
“I’m very humbled by this Award. We wouldn’t be anything like as efficient at what we do were it not for our incredible band of volunteers and Paul in particular. Added to that, the help and co-ordination from our Northumberland lead Ian, and Leon and the Cramlington crew keeps us moving in the right direction.”
Cheeky, Carole's inspiration
To find out more about red squirrel volunteering with or near Bedlington contact:
https://www.facebook.com/SaveBedlingtonRedSquirrels
To donate to any of the many ongoing projects of BADRSG then pleasefollow the link:
https://gofund.me/409e515f
For other areas of the UK contact markhendersonrsst@gmail.com