Conservation Help for Wales’s Real Dragons!

Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (ARC) announce the start of a new post dedicated to the conservation of Welsh amphibians, reptiles and their habitats.

Mark Barber, a graduate of Swansea University, has just started as ARC’s Species Officer for Wales, based in Swansea. Funding was secured from the Vodafone World of Difference UK programme, which provides the opportunity for applicants to work for a UK charity of their choice for two months. Mark applied to work for ARC and out of the 11,000+ applications he was one of the lucky 500 to receive sponsorship. The position will involve promoting ARC and the conservation of reptiles and amphibians at shows and local events within Wales.

He’ll also be providing training in survey, identification techniques and habitat management for members of the public and wildlife conservation organisations. Furthermore the role will assess the status of the widespread species (including the protected great crested newt) using computer modelling. Survey work will then be undertaken with local volunteers to ground truth the models’ predictions.

Contact Mark for details if your company would like to sponsor Welsh species conservation work!

If you are interested in volunteering with Mark in South Wales, or would like training for your group, then please get in contact: mark.barber@arc-trust.org

You can also follow him on his blog: http://worldofdifference.vodafone.co.uk/blogs/mark-barber/

And twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/ARCTrustWales