Member Article

Ratty’s film debut

Anybody who enjoyed Sir David Attenborough’s ‘Planet Earth II’ need not be disappointed at its end as they can now tune in to ‘Ratty - The Capture’ courtesy of the five year ‘Restoring Ratty,’ partnership project delivered by Northumberland Wildlife Trust, Forestry Commission and Tyne Rivers Trust.

Funded by National Lottery players through a grant of £421,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), the project, which is being run from Kielder Castle, is aimed at the reintroduction of water voles to the Kielder area of Northumberland.

The focus of the film may be water voles instead of snow leopards or giant otters but, for nature lovers of all ages it is a joy to watch and highlights conservation work happening, not only in the UK, but in this region.

The four minute film, the first in a series, can be viewed on the project’s Restoring Ratty Facebook page, by visiting www.nwt.org.uk/restoringratty or on YouTube, by searching for Restoring Ratty - Part 1 - The Capture. The film, made by Alnwick film maker Alan Fentiman, details the aims of the project and focuses on the capture of 16 water voles in the North Pennines last autumn and their transportation to a captive breeding centre in Devon, where they will live over winter, before being brought back the region with their young off-spring for release. If you feel inspired to get involved then call project officers Kelly Hollings or Graham Holyoak at Kielder Castle on: 01434 250898.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Sue Bishop .