Who we are
A small group with a soft spot for a sleepy mouse
We’re the Nottinghamshire Dormouse Group — more than forty volunteers working to keep the hazel dormouse part of our county’s woodlands, one nest box at a time.
Our story
It began with ten
In 2014, a year after hazel dormice were quietly reintroduced to a wood in north Nottinghamshire, ten of us came together to keep an eye on them. We were amateurs with a shared soft spot and a great deal to learn. A decade on, we’re more than forty members strong — and still learning something new every season.
2014
the year we formed
70+
volunteer members
5
woodlands monitored monthly
Apr–Oct
the monitoring season
2025
Our best year yet
Last year was our finest season on record — more dormice found across our nest boxes than in any year since we began. After a great deal of patient checking, in all weathers, it was the kind of result that makes the early starts worth every minute.
through the year
What we actually do
Summer · April–October
Counting in the woods
Once a month we walk our three woodlands, checking nest boxes as part of the National Dormouse Monitoring Programme. Every dormouse we find is gently weighed, recorded, and tucked straight back where it was — a few careful minutes, then back to sleep.
Winter
Tending to their habitat
When the dormice hibernate, we don’t stop. The colder months are for the woodland itself — coppicing, hedge-laying, planting, and mending boxes — keeping the green corridors they depend on open and connected.
The bigger picture
Where the numbers go
Every record we make feeds the National Dormouse Database, run by the People’s Trust for Endangered Species. Our county’s findings become part of the national picture of how Britain’s dormice are faring — which, sadly, is not well. Which is exactly why every single count matters.
With thanks to
We don’t do this alone
We’re proud to work alongside organisations who share the cause — for funding, expertise, training and good company.
With further support from Natural England, ZSL, Paignton Zoo, and the Common Dormouse Captive Breeders Group.
The serious bit
Handled with care — and a licence
The hazel dormouse is a European protected species. It’s against the law to disturb, handle, or even photograph one in its nest without a licence — exactly as it should be for an animal this vulnerable. That’s why our monitoring is always led by trained, licensed surveyors, with volunteers learning and working under their supervision. It’s careful, regulated work, and we’re proud to do it properly.
Join us
There’s a place for you here
Whether you’d like to help check boxes in summer, lend a hand in the woods in winter, or simply cheer the dormice on — we’d love to hear from you.