A year of watching wildlife be wild
An insight into the Trail Cam Collective's first year of loaning trail cameras to communities, schools, families and nature-lovers across the UK.
Our goal
The aim of the Trail Cam Collective is to make wildlife monitoring more accessible and bring people closer to nature, creating a ripple effect of positive change and fostering a community of conservation advocates.
First year at a glance
181+
People involved27
Loans89
Cameras usedWhere the cameras went
- Private gardens
- School grounds
- Nature reserves
- Churchyards
- University campuses
The scheme sent cameras all over the UK, monitoring a wide range of settings.
From nature reserves and quiet back gardens, to churchyards and university campuses, trail cameras have captured the previously secret lives of wildlife, changing how people view the places they thought they knew.
“One lady didn't think she had any wildlife passing through and on her first night captured 3 fox cubs and 3 badgers all drinking from her pond.”
What people hoped for
Participants set out with a range of ideas and questions about their local wildlife. In the end, these expectations were not only met, but exceeded — with many goals growing once they saw how much was happening.
People wanted to:
- Discover hidden and nocturnal wildlife
- Support education
- Gather conservation data
- Confirm use of wildlife features — setts, ponds, hedgehog houses
- Support community engagement
Here's how some of the cameras were used in 2025
- University campus
A conservation module used loaned cameras for undergraduate research, turning up muntjac, roe deer, and a surprise weasel sighting — the findings are now shaping how the campus manages its wildlife corridors.
- Family garden
One family wanted to see what wildlife was using their garden and as a result, have been encouraged to rewild areas most used by their wild neighbours, consulting experts to guide their plans.
- Secondary school
An Eco Council expected to see only rats and pigeons on their nature reserve. Instead they found foxes, squirrels and a nesting buzzard — footage that inspired children to take action against littering in the area.
- Churchyard
A group monitoring their churchyard as part of an Eco-Church initiative uncovered far more life than expected — badgers, multiple fox families, even signs of solitary bees.
- Private garden
One participant rotated a single camera around her garden week by week and ended up documenting a family of pine marten kits growing from four weeks old to twelve — a rare, ongoing window into a den most people never get to see.
Key findings
More wildlife than expected
There was far more wildlife present than people expected, even in small or urban settings.
Placement matters
Small changes in trail camera positioning dramatically affected people's results.
Everyday places are habitats
Gardens, school grounds and churchyards function as important habitats.
Wildlife keeps to routines
Species such as foxes and badgers often follow predictable paths and routines.
Species recorded
Most frequently seen
- Foxes
- Badgers
- Hedgehogs
- Muntjac deer
- Roe deer
- Squirrels
Unexpected
- Pine martens
- Buzzards
- Weasels
- Frogs
- Small mammals
- Bees
The most significant impacts reported
- Increased awareness and appreciation of local wildlife
- Greater motivation to protect, manage and rewild spaces
- Strong engagement from children and young people
- Footage influenced behaviour such as reducing litter
What happened next
Buying their own
Many households and schools now plan to buy their own trail cameras to keep watching.
Acting on litter
A secondary school Eco Council is acting on littering after seeing what it was doing to their natural areas.
Room for wildlife
People are making room for wildlife in their gardens by incorporating ponds and wild patches.
Corridors on the map
A university campus is shaping its wildlife-corridor management plan around what it discovered on the cameras.
Housing what they found
A churchyard group is exploring how to protect and house the species its Eco-Church project uncovered.
Protecting the routes
Garden participants are adjusting planting and path choices to protect the routes foxes and badgers already use.
“Exceptional experience from start to finish. All really well organised, great communication and fast delivery of the camera to my house. The camera itself was easy to set up and I found the NatureSpy website very helpful.”
Want to see what's living on your doorstep?
Find out more about the Trail Cam Collective, eligibility and how to apply for a camera loan.
Visit the Trail Cam Collective
