ARC Trust - Connecting London’s Amphibian & Reptile Habitats (CLARE)

Connecting Londons Amphibian & Reptile Environments (CLARE)

If you have seen any amphibians or reptiles within Greater London please fill in the 'Scaling the City' CLARE form on GiGL's website to help us determine where in the region these animals live.

Upcoming CLARE events 2012

The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Celebration @ Richmond Park: 15th May 11am-5pm

Big Nature Day @ the Natural History Museum: Sunday 27th May 11am-5pm. A celebration of natural history and Internation Biodiversity Day.

Reptile Walk @ East Reservoir: Tuesday 29th May 9:30am-11am. Come and see what reptiles live amongst East Reservoir and learn how to tell the difference between our native species.

BioBlitz @ Sutton Ecology Centre, London Borough of Sutton: Saturday 9th and Sunday 10th June. MORE DETAILS TO COME.

Now is the time to start surveying for herpetofauna (spring) and so we are currently putting down a number of reptile refuges which will need checking by local volunteers across London. If you are interested in getting involved or attending any of the upcoming events mentioned here please get in touch with Sophie.

For CLARE Volunteer Surveyors:

DOWNLOAD CLARE RECORDING SHEET

Email Sophie with which Borough / local sites you want to survey

slow worm in grass

Life isn't easy for reptiles and amphibians in London so in June 2011 we set up a new partnership project to lend a helping hand.

London has a superb diversity of wildlife. Nine of the thirteen British native herpetofauna species occur naturally in the Capital, these are; common frog, common toad, great crested newt, smooth newt, palmate newt, slow-worm, common lizard, grass snake and adder.

There are also other species, some of which are not naturally found in Britain thriving in small pockets of land in London. Surprisingly, though, there is very little information about the distribution of these species in London and this is hampering opportunities to conserve them. In addition, knowledge of these species is not as good as it could be and this is reducing the opportunities for people to do more for these species and to appreciate the herpetofauna on their doorstep.

ARC has teamed up with London Wildlife Trust, Greenspace Information for Greater London (GiGL - the Capital's Environmental Records Centre), London Amphibian and Reptile Group (LARG) and London, Essex & Hertfordshire Amphibian and Reptile Trust (LEHART) for this exciting new project. With support from the Heritage Lottery Fund we have begun 'Connecting London's Amphibian and Reptile Environments.'

This project campaigns for a wider public participation and education in wildlife recording and a raised profile and understanding of herps and their distribution within Greater London.

The aims of the project are:

to find out more about where London's amphibians and reptiles can be found

to provide information that will help look after them into the future.

to ask people to look for these animals and to tell us where they have seen them

to provide an opportunity for people to see what they look like and to find out how best to look for them in the wild through a series of events

to produce an atlas of distribution based on records and on predictive mapping/ modelling

to provide specific training and advice to help staff and volunteers of London Wildlife Trust, London Amphibian & Reptile Group and others, to promote amphibian and reptile conservation, especially on LWT Reserves and through LWT landscape projects

to provide more opportunities for people to see just how fascinating these little animals are!

Watch this space for upcoming CLARE events throughout the year...

Nick Baker with ARC at WildlifeXpo 2011 CLARE at Thames Festival 2011

Nick Baker with us at the WildlifeXpo CLARE at Thames Festival

To see more photos from the latest CLARE events, visit ARC's facebook page.

For further information about the project or to find out how you can get involved please contact Sophie.Hinton@arc-trust.org

For more information about CLARE project partners please visit:
London Wildlife Trust
GiGL
LARG LEHART

CLARE Scaling the City leaflet >>>

CLARE Scaling the City ID Guide & Record Form >>>

Cold Blooded Londeners - Mini Guide: amphibians and reptiles >>>