I know it’s autumn, but I though I’d just recap on a few bits and pieces I’ve been up to over the past few months that some of you may have missed.
It’s been a bumper time for science communication, as well as completing my fieldwork (an update will be coming soon) and other PhD related work. First off, I’ve been busy on the blog writing front for a number of different organisations. If you’d like to know more about my PhD research and exactly what it is I’m up to, you can check out this blog post I wrote for Save The Snakes. I’ve also recently authored another blog for SAVE THE FROGS! on marsh frogs in the UK and the knowledge gaps we have regarding them, that can be found here. Hopefully this will help to spur some research in the area, some of which I am tempted to undertake myself!
Whilst we’re on the topic of amphibian conservation, I spoke at an event in Cambridge not to long ago on local amphibian conservation. The event was kindly organised by Froglife and also featured talks by the Amphibian Survival Alliance and SAVE THE FROGS! It was a really fun afternoon and I’m happy to have been asked to present about the great work the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Amphibian and Reptile Group is doing in the area. Hopefully we’ll be able to keep up the steam for years to come!
A little while ago, some colleagues and I started a crowdfunder to help raise money for our midwife toad project looking at their origins. This was successfully funded and we were able to make over $1200, you can find out more here. As part of this, I was asked to appear on the Reptile N Chill Podcast. As well as discussing the project we also chat about general reptile and amphibian conservation, how people can get involved and what needs to be done to interface husbandry with research. You can catch that episode here if you’d like to listen, or alternatively it’s available on all major podcasting platforms if you prefer to listen to them that way.
Finally, some further reading for you all! I am happy to announce that I am the winner of the ECOS Student Writing Competition in the Postgraduate category! You can find my winning entry here, where I discuss the ongoing wildlife declines in the UK and how this links in to declines in great crested newts. It’s only a short read but I feel it’s a valuable one! So that’s pretty much brought you all up to speed, the next blog will be linked to my fieldwork but for now you’ve got plenty of reading to do!
