At the end of last year the Second year students took part in the National Small Mammal Monitoring Programme which is a survey organised by the British Mammal Society. This involved carrying out searches and humane trapping for all species of rodent but the emphasis was on finding Harvest Mice. The main aim of the survey was to establish some much-needed baseline data about the state of our mammal populations in the UK. The students got involved in searching for Field Voles, Harvest Mice and many other small rodents.

[Pictured above] Countryside student searching an area of gamekeeping cover-crop for Harvest Mouse nests on the Plumpton College farm

Even the British Mammal Society was surprised by the results that we found on the Plumpton College farm estate. During their pilot scheme they found an average of 4 or 5 Harvest Mouse nests in a 100 metre stretch; the students here found 22 Harvest Mouse nests in a 100 metre stretch of game keeping cover crop on the edge of an arable field. This is a great testament to farming, gamekeeping and conservation working hand-in-hand on the Plumpton College Estate.

[Pictured above] A Harvest Mouse nest. The tennis-ball sized nest is woven out of dry grass usually about 30cm off the ground in tall grass

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