UK's Top Rewilding Landscape Designer - The Hazel Dormouse!

The endangered dormouse can help design the ideal rewilding habitat structures. Here's how.

Who would have thought that the next Lancelot Capability Brown could be a lowly dormouse. Mind you, if a little Parisian rat can become a movie star then surely a dormouse can show us how to tap into our wilder side. The hazel dormouse ( Muscardinus avellanarius ) is a vital species whose habitat requirements provide a powerful blueprint for rewilding efforts across the UK and beyond. Creating the ideal environment for this elusive mammal not only aids its conservation but also promotes broader biodiversity, making the return of the hazel dormouse a key barometer of success in nature restoration.

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If you build it we will come!

You see, the hazel dormouse thrives in diverse, well-connected habitats that include deciduous woodlands, dense hedgerows, and scrubland. These areas must feature a variety of native plants that offer year-round food sources. Trees such as hazel , oak, and hawthorn provide nuts and berries, while honeysuckle and bramble offer flowers and fruit as well as nesting materials. Insects, another critical food source for dormice, are abundant in these complex, layered ecosystems.

“If a little Parisian rat can become a movie star then surely a dormouse can show us how to tap into our wilder side.”