A Barnstorming night of fundraising!

On Friday 22nd March Amphibian & Reptile Conservation staff had the pleasure of attending the launch night of Dominik’s Wildlife Fund at the Colbury Memorial Hall in Southampton.

Dominik Reynolds, who has just turned 13, has worked as a volunteer for the RSPB for the last four years. We were introduced at our ARC Friends Day held last year where he made an impression on all of us. I have never met such a passionate young person as Dom who lives and breathes wildlife and conservation. Dom has been making a name for himself all over the country by speaking at conferences, on the radio, writing articles and representing the RSPB at Number 10 Downing Street spreading the conservation message and becoming a voice for young conservationists in the UK.

Dom set up his Wildlife Fund to raise money for deserving charities and conservation groups over future years.  In 2013 the two charities he has decided to spend a year fundraising for is RSPB and ARC.

The launch night barn dance was the first of the fundraisers to take place and an entertaining night was had by all! Our CEO Dr Tony Gent and his wife Jenny enjoyed barn dancing the night away to the band Murphy’s Lore who were great at getting everyone up to their feet and teaching them the dances. The raffle was popular and the prizes included days out, wildlife themed gifts and pictures donated by Chris Packham who inspired Dom to set the fund up.

I would like to thank Dominik and his Mum Kerry who put so much hard work and energy in to the evening which was a great success. Well done!

Richie Johnson, Gary Powell, Angela Reynolds and Tony Gent with Kerry and Dominik Reynolds

Vacancy for a Scottish Project Officer

ARC has secured funding from Scottish Natural Heritage for a new three year project focusing on developing wider involvement in Scottish Amphibian and Reptile Conservation.  This is a full time, three year post and will be based at Caledonian Conservation in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire.  Salary £21,000 p.a. 
Applications are invited from people with a good knowledge of herpetofauna and excellent interpersonal skills.  Demonstrable experience working on herpetofauna conservation in Scotland and in particular with the voluntary sector will be a considerable advantage. 
Go to www.arc-trust.org/jobs for full details of the vacancy, job description, person specification and application form.  Closing date 28th March 2013.  Interviews to be held on 12th April 2013 in Hamilton.

Make CAP Count!

If there’s one single thing that has shaped the UK’s countryside over the last 50 years, it's the EU's Common Agricultural Policy.

The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is the EU-wide system of payments to farmers and land managers worth over £3 billion a year in the UK.

The Wildlife Trusts believe the CAP must be radically reformed to protect and restore the ecosystems on which people and wildlife depend. Linking payments from the CAP to environmental measures, such as creating flower-rich field margins for insects and farmland birds, would help restore nature across the UK.

On 13 March 2013, the Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) have an historic opportunity to reform the CAP. As our elected representatives in Brussels, it is vital that MEPs hear the voice of their constituents and make the CAP count for a Living Landscape.

Send a message to your MEP to vote for farming that supports nature:

**CLICK HERE!**

This campaign is supported by the following organisations in the UK:

South West Regional Amphibian and Reptile Groups' Meeting 2013

Scaling up support

Cornwall to host amphibian and reptile conference

Supporters of frogs, toads, newts, snakes and lizards will be gathering in Cornwall on Sunday 3rd March for a South West regional meeting of Britain’s Amphibian and Reptile Groups.

Staged at Cornwall College Newquay, the conference is being organised jointly by the Cornwall Reptile and Amphibian Group (CRAG) – a specialist group within Cornwall Wildlife Trust – and the College’s Student Invasive Non-Native Group (SINNG).

Conserving adders is high on the Amphibian and Reptile Groups’ agenda.
Taken by Jack Perks Photography

The programme promises a lively mix of presentations on local, national and global conservation issues. Topics include Cornwall’s rare sand lizards, latest results from SINNG’s studies of non-native amphibians in the county, and a report on the current status of adders in the UK.

Delegates will also draw inspiration and ideas from research as far afield as Spain and Tanzania to help conserve species closer to home. Practical guidance will be given on recording systems and on biosecurity measures to prevent the spread of diseases through fieldwork

There will be lighter moments, including a session entitled ‘Adam, Eve and Hissing Sid’, as well as time for informal discussion.

“One of the best things about Amphibian and Reptile Group meetings, nationally and regionally, is that they give people a chance to encourage each other’s efforts and share information", says CRAG Co-ordinator Mark Nicholson.

“Most of those who attend will be members of the various county ARGs, which together make up ARG UK. We’re a close-knit community of specialists and we work very effectively together to make sure these creatures get their fair share of conservation effort.”

The event’s sponsors are environmental consultancy companies CGO Ecology Ltd and Herpetologic Ltd, as well as the College itself.

Anyone interested in attending is asked to contact Pete Mycock at newtpete@hotmail.co.uk for details.

Draft Survey Protocols for the British Herpetofauna

Survey Protocols for the British Herpetofauna Over the last two years a range of interested parties, including statutory bodies, NGOs (including ARC-Trust and ARG UK), academics and commercial practitioners have been examining survey protocols for amphibians and reptiles. A series of workshops was held around Great Britain between spring 2011 and spring 2012. This enabled the latest scientific research to be disseminated to those in the field, whilst field practitioners in turn flagged up areas where they considered further research and guidance was needed. The draft protocols that resulted from these workshops are now available and there will be a brief period of consultation whilst comments on the proposals are invited. These should be made to Dr David Sewell, Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology, University of Kent, Marlowe Building, Canterbury, Kent, CT2 7NR or e-mailed to D.L.Sewell@kent.ac.uk to arrive no later than 27th December 2012.

Download the Draft Proposals here

ARC Professional Training Courses 2013

We are pleased to announces our professional training programme for 2013, conducted in partnership with the Field Studies Council. To see more details about these courses download the brochure here. All bookings for these courses are taken by the Field Studies Council. To register and pay online, please visit the FSC website.

The six courses available are:

Great Crested Newts & Licensing for Surveys
INTRODUCTORY LEVEL 

28th March 2013 AND 3rd April 2013

Working with Natterjacks: understanding their ecology, surveys and licensing
INTRODUCTORY LEVEL

25th April 2013

Lives of British Amphibians: ecology & identification
OPEN TO EVERYONE:

11th -12th May 2013

Reptile Surveys
INTERMEDIATE LEVEL:

15th May 2013

Reptiles & Amphibians
INTERMEDIATE LEVEL: ACCREDITED BY MANCHESTER METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY

17th - 20th May 2013

Great Crested Newts, Licensing & Mitigation
INTERMEDIATE LEVEL:

26th - 28th November 2013

WELSH DRAGONS ATTRACT HUGE INTEREST!

The recent Wales Amphibian and Reptile Symposium (WARS) and Wales and the Marches ARG Meeting was a hugely successful event, attracting  seventeen speakers and seventy five individuals from a range of backgrounds, including ARGs, ecological consultants, county council ecologists and academics.

The event was organised by Mark Barber, through ARC’s Community Engagement in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Across Wales project, which is funded by CCW. It was held at the centrally located Media Resource Centre in Llandrindod Wells, on Saturday the 3rd of November. A range of enjoyable talks focussed on the enormous variety of work being undertaken for amphibians and reptiles in Wales – from modelling newt distribution to reconnecting populations through building ponds! It is hoped this event will encourage further action for the conservation of Welsh herpetofauna by boosting ARG activity and by inspiring the creation of new ARGs. A proceedings to the symposium will be released in due course.