This year we are celebrating the support of our ARC Friends by offering five days of free in person guided walks in Cumbria, Devon, Dorset, Hampshire and Norfolk. From Monday 13 to Friday 17 September join ARC staff on some of our beautiful nature reserves to learn more about the sites, the wildlife that calls them home and our work to conserve them.

Land management has always been the core activity of ARC, focusing on the reptile rich counties of Dorset, Hampshire and Surrey, but now incorporating nature reserves nationally including important amphibian sites in Cumbria, Norfolk and north Wales. We consider the best way to conserve our native species is by managing important core areas of their UK distribution and using these as demonstration sites to influence the thoughts and actions of others. Initially concentrating on threatened lowland heathlands in the south, we are now active across a wider range of habitats across the country, including military ranges, golf clubs and national parks.

ARC currently manages over 2000 hectares across 80 reserves. Our aim is to continue to consolidate and expand our presence as custodians, to protect and promote amphibian and reptile populations by purchasing important sites and managing habitats through lease or licence agreements. 

In addition to natural landscape features ARC’s reserves evidence historical human activity: glacial pools, Bronze Age burial mounds, boundary banks ranging in time from the Iron Age up to the very recent industrial features such as sand and clay pits, creating typography such as ponds and mounds, attractive to native species.

The majority of our work on these sites is carried out by our own experienced Field Teams who undertake a seasonal set of activities; primarily tree and scrub control during the winter followed by bracken control, site infrastructure maintenance and monitoring work during the warmer months. Although our primary focus is herpetological we have a range of skills and specialisms within our teams which reflect our aim of managing our sites for the full variety of wildlife present, in many cases equally rare or threatened.

For ARC Friends Week 2021 we are offering our ARC Friends a variety of free reserve tours at a range of locations (non ARC Friends may attend at £5pp). Not only will this give our supporters an exclusive tour of some of the UK’s most stunning habitats, but it will also give the opportunity to experience the benefits of our work and ask our knowledgeable staff questions.

We look forward to welcoming you. Please visit our events page for more details. Places are limited so book today to avoid disappointment! 

See event list!