Derbyshire Amphibian and Reptile Group

About us

About Us

Welcome to Derbyshire Amphibian and Reptile Group we cover the whole of Derbyshire including part of the Peak District National Park.and the National Forest

Our group aims to promote the study and conservation of the amphibians and reptiles of Derbyshire and their habitats. We achieve this by:

raising awareness of the ecology and conservation needs of Derbyshire's amphibians and reptiles
undertaking practical conservation projects
running approximately 20 Toads on Road patrols at locations across the county every spring during the toad migration season
carrying out regular reptile surveys and amphibian surveys
organising amphibian and reptile training sessions for members and the public
providing advice and information and answering queries for the public
developing recording, monitoring and research intitatives
providing a forum for those interested in amphibians and reptiles
working in partnership with other relevant organisations

We hope our website will help you to find the information you are looking for, but if you still have a query, please contact us and we will do our best to help.

Derbyshire ARG always welcome new members to the group, please email us on derbyshirearg@gmail.com to join. There is a membership subscription of £5 per year, though that is reviewed at every AGM..

We are very grateful for any records of amphibians and reptiles in your local area that you can pass to us as it helps in mapping the distribution of species and protecting their known habitats. Either contact us directly or use the Record a sighting tab on this website.

The group is run by a committee which is elected at the AGM each year. For 2024 - 2025 the committee elected at the AGM on 13th January 2024 are:

Chair - Kelvin Lawrence, Vice Chair - Christian Murray-Leslie, Secretary - Chris Monk, Treasurer - Jayne Thompson
Committee members - Garry Dorrell, Chris Hallam, James Longley, Sheila Stubbs and Ben Wyke

Kelvin Lawrence is also the Derbyshire Toad Crossings Co-ordinator for the Group & for Froglife

See a previous newsletters here

January_2021_DARG_newsletter_31.pdf

August_2020_DerbyshireARG_newsletter.pdf

February_2020_DARG_Events_newsletter.pdf

DARG_April_2019_newsletter.pdf

DARG_January_2019_newsletter.pdf

Derbyshire ARG data policy

DARG_data_protection_policy_November_2018.pdf

News

2016 Toad crossings

Posted on Monday 2nd May, 2016

After yet another late season, not really starting until the end of March the road patrols have now finished for this year. Seems to have been a definite gradient across the county with patrols in the south of the county mostly having higher numbers this year, those in the central part being down on each of the last two years and those in the northwest having a very poor year.

At 6 of the sites male toads were measured for the ARGUK Toadsize project.

Reptile surveys 2016

Posted on Sunday 20th March, 2016

Dates have been fixed for member's spring visits to sites where we have reptile surveys running this year.

At present one survey is running at Hassop in the Peak District National Park in co-operation with the National Park Ranger Service and another is at a Derbyshire Wildlife Trust Nature Reserve near Cromford.

A smaller survey may be added this spring at another site close to Cromford and further dates announced for later in the year.

Toad Crossing preparations

Posted on Sunday 20th March, 2016

The cool dry weather has delayed the start of the toad migration season this spring but patrol members have finished installing the temporary toad warning highway signs at locations across the county. All we are waiting for now is some mild and damp weather to encourage the toads to start returning to their breeding ponds.

Events

Show Past Events

Autumn meeting and AGM

Sat 18th October, 2025 - Sat 18th October, 2025

There’s a lot of talk at present about re-wilding land for nature but what does that mean and would it be beneficial for our amphibians and reptiles.

The Derbyshire Wildlife Trust says they aim to re-wild 100,000 acres of land and water So what does that mean ?

We will be having a talk by Alex Fisher from the Wildlife Trust on the progress of their re-wilding on the several large areas of land that they have purchased in the past few years. Also we can discuss with Alex the pros and cons of the affect of re-wilding on amphibians and reptiles, such as does conservation grazing work for reptiles. We have seen the loss various adder sites on the moors due to the change in cattle grazing.

There will also be a short presentation on 20 years of our surveys in the Peak District National Park for adders and great crested newts. Finally there will be very brief AGM at the end of the meeting.

The meeting is being held in room 19 at the Strutts Community Centre on Derby Road at Belper. There is plenty of free car parking at the side and rear of the building, buses stop outside on Derby Road and its just a short walk from the railway station.

This is a free meeting open to members and the general public.

DARG stand at DaNES annual show

Sat 8th November, 2025 - Sat 8th November, 2025

We will be attending the Derbyshire & Nottinghamshire Entomological Society's annual Insect Show. This event has many wildlife organisations attending dealing with a whole range of taxa not just insects. Like last year this will be held at the Nottingham Trent University's Brackenhurst Campus at Southwell and runs from 10.30 to 16.00. Free event and free car parking.

We will have a stand, probably jointly with Nottinghamshire ARG, with display boards and information about our amphibians and reptiles. Well worth a visit and any help from ARG members at the event will be welcome.

2025 DaNES Insect Show poster