Conservation meets creativity: using poetry to explore the plight of our red squirrels

The Clocaenog Red Squirrel Trust have teamed up with eco-poet Diana Sanders to raise awareness of the plight of the Clocaenog red squirrels through the medium of poetry.

Poetry has long been used for resistance, protest and activism and eco-poetry is no exception. Eco-poetry uses poetry as a form of environmental activism, to engage with ecological concerns and to promote environmental awareness and action.

Red squirrels are classed as endangered in the UK and are rare in Wales. Red squirrels have been on a slow decline in the UK since the grey squirrel was introduced from North America in the late 1800s. Grey squirrels are larger than the red squirrels and so outcompete them for food and resources. They are also carriers of squirrelpox virus, a virus which is lethal to the red squirrels.

Caro Collingwood (Clocaenog Red Squirrel Ranger) and Diana hope that some of these poems that touch on themes of noise pollution, vulnerability of the species through habit loss, disease passed on by grey squirrels, the environment the squirrels live in and observations of the squirrels themselves will help raise awareness of some of the issues faced by red squirrels.

These poems will be exhibited in The Old Courthouse – Ruthin from the 21st to the 28th of July.

Make sure to pop in to learn about red squirrels, how you can get involved with the work of the trust and to read some heart-felt poetry written by people who attended a poetry writing workshop after listening to Caro talk about red squirrels and her work with the Clocaenog Red Squirrel Trust.