VOLUNTEERS are needed in the Lydford area to take part in a special new dormouse and hedgerow survey.

The survey, part of Dartmoor National Park Authority?s Action for Wildlife project, will involve scouring the hedgerows around Lydford in search of hazelnuts which have been opened by these rare animals.

The aim of the survey is to gather information on the dormouse population on the western fringes of Dartmoor, with a view to improving and maintaining their habitat. Devon is regarded as a national stronghold for the species, whose international numbers are dangerously low.

This Saturday there will be a dormouse survey training event at Nicholls Hall in Lydford, starting at 10am and finishing around noon.

The event, funded by a £4,572 lottery grant from the Social, Economic and Environment Development Programme (SEED), will involve an introduction to the survey and a talk about dormice including details of how to recognise the hazel nuts which have been nibbled by these endangered creatures.

Participants will then be issued with a survey pack and designated area in which to carry out the work in their own time.

Assistant project officer Sarah Mellor said the survey is an opportunity for families to have some fun while playing an important role in conservation.

?The surveys make a nice afternoon?s walk or a fun family activity. This is a really exciting project and a great chance for people to get involved in conserving the wildlife in their area,? she said.

The aim of the three year Action for Wildlife project, launched in September last year, is to ?maintain and enhance the wildlife resources of Dartmoor? by helping local people to carry out practical action on the ground.

The project focuses on key habitats and species identified in the Dartmoor Biodiversity Action Plan, and is funded by a partnership which includes the Environment Agency and English Nature.

The Dormouse Survey is part of the Nature for Real initiative by Action for Wildlife in the communities of Lydford and Buckfastleigh.

For more information, call Action for Wildlife on 01626 831027, or simply turn up on the day.