Cornwall Reptile & Amphibian Group
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About us

About Us

CRAG - Cornwall Reptile & Amphibian Group

CRAG aims to increase awareness and action on behalf of Cornwall's reptiles (snakes and lizards) and amphibians (frogs, toads and newts)
Its activities include

  • Outings and meetings to develop members knowledge of the species found in the county
  • Participation in survey work
  • Practical conservation tasks
  • We also have social activities and get togethers with other specialist wildlife groups.

The group is open to anyone who would like to be involved with amphibian and reptile conservation in Cornwall.

A small annual subscription of £5.00 is payable by all Members, except students who can currently become a member for £1. New members are welcome to apply to join at any time. Click the Membership tab for full details.

CRAG is affiliated to the Amphibian & Reptile Groups of UK.

Please record all sightings of reptiles and amphibians seen in and around Cornwall - that includes non-natives such as terrapins. The easiest way to do this is to click on the 'Record a sighting' tab above and fill out the form. Although we love watching these animals from a safe distance, sadly not everyone appreciates them so please remember never to share exact locations on social media.

News

News

Summary of CRAG Activities in 2024 So Far

Posted on Monday 16th September, 2024

Here are a few snippets and updates which you might find of interest.

Sand lizard project

A subgroup of ten CRAG members have received training and started work on a monitoring project at an established sand lizard introduction site.

Other survey work

Individually or collectively, various CRAG members continue to survey and monitor sites to improve our knowledge of reptile and amphibian distribution and status. This is fundamental to conserving species and habitats.

Adder genetics project

Our Scientific Officer, Stephen Green, is leading research on adder genetics. You can help by sending in any shed skins you find, with a note of where and when you found them. (While you’re looking, our friends at the Cornwall Mammal Group have asked if we have any adder, common lizard or slow-worm bones we can pass to them. It’s for a photo guide to otter spraint analysis.) Please email argcornwall@gmail.com for more information.

Photo Competition

Members are strongly encouraged to enter their pictures into the CRAG Photography Competition. You still have until 1st November. There are prizes of a wildlife book and a year’s free membership of CRAG in three age categories. Just take a picture of any of our native reptiles or amphibians – without handling them. Photos must have been taken in the last two years. See the article below for more information.

Promotional events

In most years, we try to have a CRAG presence at various public events, to increase awareness of our reptiles and amphibians, to encourage positive action on their behalf, and to attract new members. This has been an unusually quiet year, but once we get going again we will be looking to upgrade our display equipment and promotional resources.

Volunteer Worker’s Agreement (VWA)

Any member attending a CRAG outing or practical event must have completed and signed a VWA – otherwise they are not covered by our insurance. To complete or amend your VWA:

  • ·Click on: https://surrey-arg.org.uk/SARGWEB.php?app=LogIn&Org=CRAG
  • ·(Don’t be confused by the ‘surrey’ bit – that’s where the site was first developed.)
  • ·Enter your email address and password. (There should be a password reminder function if you’ve forgotten.)
  • ·Go to My CRAG Account.
  • ·Complete/amend your VWA details. Update any other details. Have a look at the other functions and information.

ARG UK

CRAG is part of Amphibian and Reptile Groups of the UK (ARG UK). The ARG UK website is packed with useful and interesting information. Go to:

https://www.arguk.org/

Can you help?

Do you have the necessary knowledge to lead an outing? Or would you be willing to arrange an outing, for which we would provide a leader? Would you be interested in joining the CRAG Committee? Could you help, for instance, with social media posts or with administrative tasks? Please email argcornwall@gmail.com if you're interested.


Can you help with adder research?

Posted on Monday 16th September, 2024

CRAG's Stephen Green is looking for shed skins, to help with research on adder genetics. If you find any, or if you have some in your nature collection, please email him via argcornwall@gmail.com.


CRAG Photography Competition 2024

Posted on Saturday 9th March, 2024

CRAG 2024 Flyer 1webCRAG 2024 Flyer 2

Email your entries to argcornwall@gmail.com


Reptile Survey Training Day

Posted on Saturday 9th March, 2024

On 2nd March 2024, ten CRAG members gathered for a Reptile Survey Training Day in North Cornwall. Led by Helen Fearnley, the event began with an indoor presentation on the UK reptile species, their identification and their natural history. This led on to practical advice on how to find and record them in the field.

The methodology was based on protocols used by the ARC Trust for its National Reptile Survey. Please see the following link for details of that: https://reptile-survey.arc-trust.org/

An afternoon visit to a sand dune site reinforced the survey methods, although cold and windy conditions meant that no reptiles appeared on the day.

Thanks to Helen for organising and leading the training. Also to Andy Nelson of Cornwall Wildlife Trust, who provided sponsorship for the event on behalf of the Making Space for Sand project.

20240302 150943


Winners of the CRAG Photography Competition 2022

Posted on Wednesday 21st December, 2022

18+ Category

We are very happy to announce the '18 or older' category winner of our annual photography competition!

This image was captured by Roger Fleet.

Roger Fleet 11

Judges enjoyed this image as the toad is sharp in contrast with the soft background, allowing the details of the toads skin to be captured!

Roger has some prizes on the way, including a book which was kindly donates by NHBS. Check them out as they have a wide range of books and wildlife products, perfect for a gift to yourself or someone special!

 

18+ runner up

We are very happy to announce the runner-up to the '18 or older' category winner of our annual photography competition! Unfortunately no one entered the '12-17 category' so we didn't want a prize to go to waste!

This image was captured by George Turner.

IMG 20221219 WA0000

Judges enjoyed this image as the slow worm was sharp in contrast to the background, and captured the sunlight that every reptile is looking for.

George has some prizes on the way, including a book which was kindly donates by NHBS . Check them out as they have a wide range of books and wildlife products, perfect for a gift to yourself or someone special!

 

Up to 11 years Category

We are very happy to announce the 'Up to 11 years' category winner of our annual photography competition!

This image was captured by Olivia Williams. 

20220715 202625Olivia Williams

It's amazing to see people such as Olivia at such a young age getting involved and being interested in their local wildlife.

Olivia has some prizes on the way, including a book which was kindly donated by Evelyn Sinclair. Her books are perfect for children to learn about our native wildlife.


Events

Events

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Membership

Membership

Membership: Only £5 per year! 

A small annual subscription of £5.00 is payable by all members, except students who can join for just £1 upon proof of studentship by using their student email. Subscribe online using PayPal below.

New members are welcome to apply to join at any time. Members are eligible to join us on surveys, trips, take part in regular monitoring, practical conservation tasks and attend our social events. For insurance purposes you must be a member to take part in activities organised by CRAG.

 

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Contact us

Contact Us

For general enquiries please contact:

argcornwall@gmail.com 

 

If you have any questions about reptiles or amphibians please contact our Science Officer below.

 

CRAG is always looking for new volunteers to help with habitat management and species monitoring. If you would like to get involved, please get in touch.

 

 

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Acting Chair - Ethan Henderson - Ethe94@gmail.com

Science Officer - Stephen Green - stephen.green@cornwall.ac.uk

Amphibian Champion -  Alice Pawlik - alicepawlik6@hotmail.com

Treasurer - Mark Nicholson

Secretary - Ethan Henderson - Ethe94@gmail.com

Social Media Officer - Ethan Henderson - Ethe94@gmail.com

Volunteer Coordinator - Emily Menear

Data Officer - Becky Turner

Web Officer - Laura Fox

 

Upcoming Events

Upcoming events will be listed here.


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