News & Events Latest news Snakes in the Heather – New video lesson series and exciting dates for your diary! 19 May 2021 Snakes in the Heather Education Officer, Owain Masters shares details of our now compete series of reptile video lessons for primary school children and some not to be missed events coming up this summer. At Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (ARC) we know it is vital to inform, interest and involve the next generation in conservation of wildlife. With this in mind we have produced a series of video lessons for primary school aged children. The video lessons are linked to the curriculum for science and explain what a reptile is and teach the names of all the wonderful lizards and snakes that live naturally in the UK. They then highlight UK reptiles as examples to revise concepts including habitats, food chains, how and why we group animals together, lifecycles and even why snakes evolved to lose their legs! Please forward the link to any teachers, cub leaders or other grown-ups who look after potential future herpetologists! The series can be found in the YouTube playlist: https://tinyurl.com/SitHYouTube SAVE THE DATES! Snakes in the Heather, our flagship project to conserve the smooth snake, is now well into its second year. With COVID-19 restrictions easing we have started to plan a number of events to inform, interest and involve local communities in the conservation of heathland species, especially reptiles. We want to highlight three of these here: Snakes in the Heather Celebration Event. 6pm Tuesday 22nd June: Aimed at existing partners and supporters, this event will showcase the progress of the project to date, celebrate the work of our volunteers, and provide an opportunity for Q and A. This is a free event suitable for adults which will be run via Zoom. View the event agenda and register your place today! Book now! Heath Week. Saturday 24th July to Friday 30th July: Heath Week is a national celebration of dry lowland heath habitat. ARC will be running a number of events in Dorset to educate people about the importance of the nature of their doorstep and to deliver messages about the countryside code and bylaws. Many of these events will be suitable for families. Full details coming soon. ARC Children’s Book Launch. Saturday 09th October, Castleview Centre, Corfe: This event will showcase the children’s book, In Search of Old Uncle Blue, which has been produced as part of the project. The event will include a guest reading, an arts and crafts table and a book sale. This event is aimed at families. Full details coming soon. This article is intended as a ‘Save the Date’. Keep an eye on the ARC event pages for full details and please spread the word. We hope to see you soon! Snakes in the Heather is supported by a grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund. ARC also thanks the Banister Charitable Trust and Love the Forest for generous donations to the Snakes in the Heather project. Manage Cookie Preferences