A HOUSEBUILDER has provided a conservation group with funding to carry out training to protect endangered wildlife.

The Fuzzy Drove Conservation Group has been awarded £370 funding towards getting training to help protect endangered dormice.

Founded in 2012, after an appeal in the community for support to improve and maintain the old wooded drove road situated on the western edge of Kempshott, the group now has 16 active volunteers who meet fortnightly.

Funding for this training for the group has been provided by CALA Homes.

Fuzzy Drove Conservation Group was chosen as a recipient of a bursary, with the money being utilised for one of the group members to become a licensed dormice disturber, which are a European protected species.

Sally Matthews, secretary at Fuzzy Drove Conservation Group, said: “Since we began our conservation works over six years ago, we have made a real contribution to the local community by creating an aesthetically pleasing area that supports local wildlife.

“The donation from CALA will enable a member of the group to receive valuable training and obtain a qualification in protecting dormice, so we can further improve the local habitat for this endangered species.”

Since the formation of the Fuzzy Drove Conservation Group, the team has undertaken extensive renovations to the Kempshott area including planting native plants and hedgerows, creating dead hedges and raising awareness in the local community on the importance creating a diverse habitat to support wildlife.

John Kennedy, managing director at CALA Homes, said: “We are committed to creating sustainable communities as well as homes and we are excited to support the incredible work that Fuzzy Drove Conservation Group continues to do.”