Why?

Because the dormouse is one of England's rarest mammals, has already been lost from seven counties because of habitat loss and so is a priority conservation species.

By adopting a dormouse for just £15 a year you will be contributing to the Dorset Wildlife Trust's (DWT) Dorset Dormouse Recovery Project and so helping to protect one of our most appealing and rare mammals.

More about the Dorset Dormouse Recovery Project

This ongoing DWT conservation project has built and placed hundreds of nest boxes for dormice at eleven nature reserves around the county.

Each year new sites are identified and additional boxes erected, which dormice readily use.

Dormice are nocturnal, so very difficult to spot, but the boxes provide an easy way to find them, allowing DWT to keep a close eye on the population level, and providing the dormice with secure homes for nesting and hibernation.

Licensed experts check the boxes every month throughout the summer for signs of dormouse activity - dormice are not affected by this but as it is illegal to disturb these mammals this work can only be done by licensed specialists.

The boxes have to be maintained and cleaned out each year.

Adopt a Dorset Dormouse

Gift Aid : Increase your
donation without spending a penny extra!

Tick the Gift Aid box below and for every £1 you give, Dorset Wildlife Trust can claim back an extra 28p from the Inland Revenue.

To qualify for Gift Aid, you must pay UK income tax or capital gains tax at least equal to the amount we will reclaim in the tax year. If in the future your circumstances change and you no longer pay tax or capital gains tax equal to the tax that the charity reclaims, you can cancel this declaration by notifying us.