Email your entries to argcornwall@gmail.com

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.

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.

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.

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. 

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.

On Tuesday our scientific officer Stephen was joined by students from @newquayuniversitycentre to do some habitat management, and perhaps spot some of the local wildlife.

Habitat management is a key part in protecting our native reptiles and amphibians. By making the site suitable for them, it provides prime habitat for them in order to thrive.

They also did some updates on some reptile mats, another tool used to survey the populations which are used in ongoing studies!

We are very excited to announce our 3rd annual photography competition!

Have you spotted one of our native reptile or amphibians in Cornwall?

Fancy yourself a photographer? Why not enter our free competition? We have categories for different age groups as we want to see everyone get involved!

Aside from a few rules which can be seen on our poster there is no theme so you can be as creative as you would like!

Prizes will be rewarded for the best!