Bucks ARG :: About

Background
Buckinghamshire Amphibian and Reptile Group (BucksARG) was set up in February 2007 to study and help conserve the county's native amphibians and reptiles. Many other counties have successful volunteer groups, but there was no formal network present in Buckinghamshire.

The group aims to provide a structure for organising records, surveys, training, education and practical habitat work.

Records
The most important part of our work is the collection of records. Until we understand the distribution of herpetofauna in the county we cannot influence and target conservation priorities.

A record is basically what you saw, where and when. The more detail one can provide the better. In addition to species, details such as sex, number, grid references, google earth .kmz files, postcodes, time of day, weather and habitat notes are invaluable.

It is very important to have up-to-date records, so if for example you see lizards on your favourite walk, then send us a record every year that you see them. Please download our recording form below for more information:
www.bucksarg.org.uk/recording_form.doc (24KB)

You can send your records to us via email, post or telephone. See the contact page for full details.

All our records are sent to the Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes Environmental Records Centre (BMERC). Please download BMERC and BucksARGS's current Reptiles and Amphibians in Buckinghamshire report:
www.bucksarg.org.uk/report2006.pdf (0.2MB)

Unfortunately we are a volunteer organisation and do not provide records to ecological consultancies. Please contact BMERC for all requests for records. We also do not provide commercial, ecological or legal advice on protected species or planning. Please seek advice from a professional ecological consultancy. Visit the Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management's website (see our links page) for a directory of suitable companies in the area.

Training
BucksARG will arrange training days to raise standards in survey methodology, and have a good time. We had several very successful days so far, and in the future we also hope to carry out more practical conservation work on suitable sites. Please see our annual e-Newsletter (below) for details of dates in 2010.

Details
Membership of BucksARG is free at the present time and you can contribute as much or as little as you like. Just send us a completed members details form (below).
www.bucksarg.org.uk/membersdetails.doc

e-Newsletter
We send regular email newsletters of the group's past and forthcoming events, and we hope to expand these activities in future years. Download our third (January 2010) e-Newsletter (1.95MB) here:
www.bucksarg.org.uk/Bucks_ARG_enews_10.pdf

Insurance
The ARG-UK network provides a free insurance scheme which people will be required to sign up to in order to attend training days and to officially survey as "BucksARG". In order to benefit from this, just send us a completed ARG-UK insurance form (below):
http://www.arg-uk.org.uk/ARG_UK_Insurance.pdf

Please do be aware of the dangers (such as being around water bodies at night, or handling adders) involved with survey work and ensure you have relevant training. The above form contains a generic risk assessment.

Acknowledgements
Many thanks to BMERC for funding this website.



Background Buckinghamshire Amphibian and Reptile Group (BucksARG) was set up in February 2007 to study and help conserve the county's native amphibians and reptiles. Many other counties have successful volunteer groups, but there was no formal network present in Buckinghamshire. The group aims to provide a structure for organising records, surveys, training, education and practical habitat work. Records The most important part of our work is the collection of records. Until we understand the distribution of herpetofauna in the county we cannot influence and target conservation priorities. A record is basically what you saw, where and when. The more detail one can provide the better. In addition to species, details such as sex, number, grid references, google earth .kmz files, postcodes, time of day, weather and habitat notes are invaluable. It is very important to have up-to-date records, so if for example you see lizards on your favourite walk, then send us a record every year that you see them. Please download our recording form below for more information: www.bucksarg.org.uk/recording_form.doc (24KB) You can send your records to us via email, post or telephone. See the contact page for full details. All our records are sent to the Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes Environmental Records Centre (BMERC). Please download BMERC and BucksARGS's current Reptiles and Amphibians in Buckinghamshire report: www.bucksarg.org.uk/report2006.pdf (0.2MB) Unfortunately we are a volunteer organisation and do not provide records to ecological consultancies. Please contact BMERC for all requests for records. We also do not provide commercial, ecological or legal advice on protected species or planning. Please seek advice from a professional ecological consultancy. Visit the Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management's website (see our links page) for a directory of suitable companies in the area. Training BucksARG will arrange training days to raise standards in survey methodology, and have a good time. We had several very successful days so far, and in the future we also hope to carry out more practical conservation work on suitable sites. Please see our annual e-Newsletter (below) for details of dates in 2010. Details Membership of BucksARG is free at the present time and you can contribute as much or as little as you like. Just send us a completed members details form (below). www.bucksarg.org.uk/membersdetails.doc e-Newsletter We send regular email newsletters of the group's past and forthcoming events, and we hope to expand these activities in future years. Download our third (January 2010) e-Newsletter (1.95MB) here: www.bucksarg.org.uk/Bucks_ARG_enews_10.pdf Insurance The ARG-UK network provides a free insurance scheme which people will be required to sign up to in order to attend training days and to officially survey as "BucksARG". In order to benefit from this, just send us a completed ARG-UK insurance form (below): http://www.arg-uk.org.uk/ARG_UK_Insurance.pdf Please do be aware of the dangers (such as being around water bodies at night, or handling adders) involved with survey work and ensure you have relevant training. The above form contains a generic risk assessment. Acknowledgements Many thanks to BMERC for funding this website.	What You Can Do Contact us with records of amphibians or reptiles you have seen in the county. Get involved in surveying for your favourite species by: perhaps monitoring a known population, or surveying potential sites for new records. Send us your images to include on this website, but remember all photos must be taken in Buckinghamshire. BucksARG will also be taking part in national survey programmes such as the National Amphibian and Reptile Recording Scheme (NARRS) and Add an Adder. Please visit the appropriate website on our links page for more details. In The Garden Create log piles or a rockery. Manage a wild area for local plants and animals. Make a compost bin for slow worms or grass snakes. Create a wildlife pond with native plant species and no fish. Further Information Please visit the sites on our links page for more information. Below are several leaflets to download that may be of interest (approx 0.5MB each). English Nature - Amphibians in your Garden English Nature - Reptiles in your Garden Froglife - Surveying for (Great Crested) Newt Conservation Froglife - Conserving Grass Snakes Froglife - Toads on Roads (1.7MB)