Events

Fun for all at ARC Friend’s Week 2021!

By Anju Sarpal - Outreach and Communications Manager

Following a difficult year due to the COVID pandemic and lockdown we wanted to celebrate the support of our ARC Friends by offering five days of free in-person guided walks across Cumbria, Devon, Dorset, Hampshire and Norfolk. Supporters joined ARC staff on some key nature reserves to learn more about the sites, the wildlife that calls them home and our work to conserve them.

Our ARC Friends enjoyed a range of events, from getting involved in a live sand lizard release with Marwell Zoo and Forestry England, to collecting useful monitoring records at East Weavers Down. Visitors to Great Ovens managed to find smooth snakes using GPS to locate refugia and visitors to St Catherine’s Hill enjoyed a guided archaeological walk.

ARC currently manages over 2000 hectares across 80 reserves. Land management has always been the core activity of ARC, focusing on the reptile rich counties of Dorset, Hampshire and Surrey, but now incorporating nature reserves nationally including important amphibian sites in Cumbria, Norfolk and north Wales. We consider the best way to conserve our native species is by managing important core areas of their UK distribution and using these as demonstration sites to influence the thoughts and actions of others. Initially concentrating on threatened lowland heathlands in the south, we are now active across a wider range of habitats across the country, including military ranges, golf clubs and national parks.

The majority of our work on these sites is carried out by our own experienced field teams who undertake a seasonal set of activities; primarily tree and scrub control during the winter followed by bracken control, site infrastructure maintenance and monitoring work during the warmer months.

Although our primary focus is herpetological we have a range of skills and specialisms within our teams which reflect our aim of managing our sites for the full variety of wildlife present, including insects, birds and plant species, in many cases equally rare or threatened.

Following the success of the week we aim to offer further walks for our supporters. It’s an opportunity to get to know reserves, ARC staff and mingle with our volunteers.

Common lizards at East Weavers Down in Surrey © Howard Inns (ARC)

"I attended the Woodbury Common walk. It was brilliant. Learned a lot and enjoyed the place, the animals we saw, and the people. I hope that there will be future opportunities to do this again."

Andrew - ARC Member

"I was thrilled to be allowed to join our partners from ARC and Forestry England, and to meet representatives from Marwell Wildlife for the lizard release in Puddletown Forest. It was a real treat to assist and to see so many sand lizards so close up. Hearing about the work being done within the project was fascinating and I look forward to following its progress.

The Urban Heaths Partnership is constantly working towards protecting and enhancing our Dorset heathland habitats and the wildlife they sustain, so to be present at the culmination of so much hard work was very special and my heartfelt thanks to all involved.

ARC/BHS Joint Scientific Meeting 2021

By Steve Allain - University of Kent PhD student

When most people think of December, they think of advent calendars and whether or not it is finally socially acceptable to put up the Christmas tree. However, if you’re a herpetologist then December means something different entirely. It is the time of year when the ARC/British Herpetological Society Joint Scientific Meeting takes place. Despite its name, not everyone who attends is a scientist, so don’t worry about that if you’re planning on attending next year. Pre-pandemic the meeting would be held at the Bournemouth Natural Science Society, with tea breaks and lunch spent with delegates chatting whilst investigating the range of taxidermy that calls this institution home. Unfortunately, this year was the second time that the meeting had to be held online via Zoom. Despite this, there was an interesting range of talks on offer (as always) which covered topics as far apart as ARC’s update to the National Amphibian & Reptile Recording Programme to the provenance and invasion biology of geckos in Florida. Herpetology may not have the same level of interest from the populous as ornithology or mammalogy which is always a worry but the Joint Scientific Meeting is a great way to find out about projects that you never knew existed, some of which have been completed right under your nose.

That’s one of the things I love most about the Joint Scientific Meeting, it is a place where two worlds collide. One of them is that of researchers, and the other is of enthusiasts. The talks are generally tailored so that anyone can understand them, no matter their background knowledge on the subject. One great example of this was Charlotte Ford’s talk on her research into Ranavirus, a pathogen known to infect fish, amphibians and reptiles. The particular aspect of Charlotte’s research she was highlighting was to do with Ranavirus detection in common frogs and common toads. To the uninitiated, this may seem like a daunting topic. Yet, my feeling was that it was perfectly explained so that everyone attending could understand. It always feels me with joy when researchers can effectively communicate their research with everyone. This does wonders to help enthuse the general public about nature, as well as helping them to understand the importance of such research.

Something I’m sure many people miss about such meetings, are having conversations while resting their lunch on a cabinet stuffed with a great auk, or having a curry the night before. These occasions are a great way for everyone to interact, and for new students to get to know the community they have just joined. Hopefully things will return to normal next year, as conferences aren’t the same without that potential for social interaction and networking. Fingers crossed, I may even see you there too!

Great crested newt © Chris Dresh (ARC).

Common frogs © Chris Dresh (ARC).

Photo top right: Great crested newt. Dr Andy Buxton spoke about Great crested newt eDNA pond occupancy and sampling error rates. Bottom Left: Adder. ARC survey volunteer Nick Dobbs gave a presentation on his study of urban adders. Above: Common frogs. Charlotte Ford told delegates 17 about Detecting ranaviruses in UK native amphibian species.