Welcome to Cumbria Amphibian and Reptile Group! (CARG)

The beginning of March saw the continuation of Toad Patrols in Cumbria- with very successful rescues carried out by Matt Carr (Coordinator for Cumbria Patrols) and his teams!

We have had lots of wonderful toad and frog posts on our Facebook page including excellent tadpole development footage from Wild Intrigue

We had our first AGM meeting at the beginning of March and it was wonderful to meet our members and to discuss plans for the forthcoming season - However due to the current Coronavirus events and surveys have sadly been cancelled until further notice.

Minutes from the meeting are available from cumbria.arg@gmail.com

We are nevertheless keeping our Facebook page updated with various online activities and training resources for all keen amphibian and reptile addicts!

We have received a few posts in regards to the emergence of Adders with negativity attached  - we are hoping to still carry on with our plan of promoting a positive image of our Adders via the media in the upcoming weeks.

A good positive information post from ARG in response to negativity is - Adders are Amazing

Toad Patrols

For more information on Cumbria Toad Patrols

Become a Patrol Manager

Patrol helper

Have information on a toad crossing

Contact 

Matt Carr County Coordinator 

mail@wildlifeoasis.co.uk 

Students from The University of Cumbria raising funds for toad patrols

A group of students from the Ambleside campus are holding a bake sale every two weeks to raise funds for much needed toad patrol equipment ! A big thank you to katherine and friends for all your hard work !

Herpetofauna Workers Meeting 2020

February 14th to the 16th saw CARG committee members attend this years Herpetofauna Workers Meeting in Southport

A fantastic and informative conference- networking with other ARG UK groups, Ecology consultancies, Researchers and University lecturers -  partaking in practical workshops and listening to presentation talks.

Suzanne Collinson CARG (Chair)  presented her work on slow worm ecology.

We took part in workshops that included "Managing habitats for conflicting species", "ARGWEB - fully integrated solution for ARG management from membership to stakeholders reports" and "Will the more strategic approach taken by District level Licensing projects help improve the conservation status of GCN"

The weekend also included a Gala Dinner with a raffle raising funds for the ARG UK 100% fund.

CARG Expedition 

Places still available ! See JULY Upcoming Events

We are appealing for the following:

Volunteers - To help with toad patrols (see 'Cumbria Toad Patrol' in our event section)

Information - We are asking for you to inform us of any unregistered cumbrian toad crossings, especially Carlisle and Penrith area !

Donations - With an increase in voluntary help any local businesses that could help us with the donation of essential toad crossing equipment - Hi vis, buckets and torches - we are keen to hear from you!

Email us: cumbria.arg@gmail.com

   Cumbrian Common Toad (Thompson 2019)

At the beginning of November we were invited to Lakeland Wildlife Oasis at Milnthorpe.

The visit included a guided informative talk and tour from the reptile and amphibian staff Matt and Sarah (both CARG members) 

We were shown a wide variety of herp species and gained knowlegde on their husbandry requirements, breeding projects and the benefits of the new enclosures installed 

A fantastic day a a very big thank you to all the staff at the Lakeland Wildlife Oasis !

We welcomed new members to CARG and held a mid year year meeting discussing projects past, present and future 

This week we were in invited to give a talk at the University of Cumbria - Introducing the group, what with have been up to this year, what we have planned and how students can get involved with voluntary work.

Cumbria_Amphibian_and_Reptile_Group.pdf    (Presentation slides)

Suzanne Collinson also gave and informative talk to the audience in regards to her dissertation work "Using Identification of Slow Worms (Anguis fragilis) to Investigate Refugia Fidelity"

Zoo_society_talk.pdf    (Presentation slides)

https://www.spreaker.com/episode/19618411      Part 1  (Recording of talk to assist slides)

https://www.spreaker.com/episode/19625619      Part 2   (Recording of talk to assist slides)

Coming up in November - End of Season Trip to Lakeland Wildlife Oasis - See November Events !