ARC Membership & Communications Officer, Kim Boughey looks back on an enjoyable day spent at the New Forest Reptile Centre 

Our ARC Members are an integral part of the ARC family, acting as ambassadors for the UK’s disappearing amphibians and reptiles, spreading the word about ARC’s important work and donating invaluable core funds which enables us to conserve these precious animals and their habitats. Each year we hold a special event which is free for ARC Members to attend as a big thank you for their support and to give members a peak behind the scenes.

An enthusiastic group of ARC Members joined ARC staff at the New Forest Reptile Centre near Lyndhurst on Wednesday 4^th September for a chance to see native amphibians and reptiles up close and to find out more about ARC’s work to protect these animals in the wild.

At The New Forest Reptile Centre there are special outdoor ‘pods’ which provide a natural home to, among others, the sand lizard, smooth snake and adder. These reptiles can be difficult to see in the wild as they are rare and very secretive, so the Reptile Centre is a great place to see them and learn more about these fascinating animals.

During spring/summer 2024 ARC has been working with Forestry England to refurbish the Reptile Centre and during our Members Day we heard about this work and the fascinating history of the site from Forestry England’s, Richard Daponte. He was assisted by local celebrity, Emily the pony who keeps the grass at the centre neat and tidy.   

ARC is part of several partnership projects in the New Forest National Park area.  Our Senior Ecologist, Paul Edgar told us more about these multi-species and habitat focused projects and some of ARC’s historical work in the area. This included an overview of his work with the New Forest Species Survival Fund.

Our species focus for this year’s event was the natterjack toad, as despite the name, the Reptile Centre is also home to several UK amphibians species including this charismatic toad. ARC’s Natterjack Toad Conservation Officer, Jack Harper joined us to tell us more about the UK’s rarest toad and to update us on ARC's natterjack toads programme.

As well as these short talks ARC Members were guided around the centre's habitat “pods” where ARC and Forestry England staff were on hand to answer questions. We were also treated to Richard feeding some of the animals, including the adders.

After a surprisingly sunny day, the event ended with a chance to mingle over refreshments, where members were treated to some free gifts and there was an opportunity to enjoy the Discovery Trail, which starts and ends at the Reptile Centre.

We have received some lovely feedback from those who attended the event and some great suggestions for the future. It is always a pleasure to meet our ARC Members, to find out what they are passionate about and to share with them some of the great work they are helping to support. We had a good mix of new and longstanding members with some travelling from as far as Cardiff! I would like to say a big thank you to my ARC and Forestry England colleagues for their help on the day and to all the ARC Members and guests who came along. I am looking forward to welcoming everyone to next years event already.

If you would like to find out more about becoming an ARC Member and to take advantage of our members benefits which include, our ARC Eye magazine, access to our exclusive online Members Area, invitations to Members Days and more visit www.arc-trust.org/join.

Although The New Forest Reptile Centre is currently closed it will reopen at the end of October for half-term. Keep an eye on our events page for details of Halloween special events coming soon!