UK Gardeners Urged to Look Out for Little Dragons!

6th July 2009

Launching at the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show, a new campaign called ‘Dragons in your Garden’ will encourage gardeners to take simple steps to help out the UK’s frogs, toads, newts, snakes and lizards – many of which are disappearing from the wider countryside.

The Common Lizard - a UK native reptile.
Credit: The Arc Trust

By providing free advice to gardeners about adding ponds, compost heaps, rockeries and bog gardens, conservationists from Amphibian and Reptile Conservation hope to see populations of ‘little dragons’ like smooth newts, slow-worms (a legless lizard), and even grass snakes, flourish in urban areas where they may be scarce currently.

The campaign will launch with a ‘Dragon’s Garden’ exhibit at Hampton Court Palace Flower Show.

The 10m x 10m Dragon’s Garden exhibit will include a pond with plants suitable for egg-laying by newts, frogs and toads as well as ‘nursery areas’ for developing tadpoles. The structure and planting of the Dragon’s Garden will mimic that of reptiles' natural habitat, providing open areas for basking alongside hiding places and foraging sites.

The Dragon’s Garden will also feature a reptile-friendly compost heap: rotting compost is a natural source of warmth for grass snakes and their developing eggs, and a place for slow-worms to give birth.

“Populations of amphibians and reptiles in the UK have declined and are still declining. A little help from gardeners can make a real difference to the conservation of these enigmatic species.” said Dr. John Wilkinson of Amphibian and Reptile Conservation.

Of the UK’s thirteen species of amphibians and reptiles, ten species are listed on the Government’s Biodiversity Action Plan (UKBAP) priority ‘watchlist’. Amphibians and reptiles have declined primarily through loss of habitat associated with the intensification of agriculture and other land use changes such as building development and afforestation. Losses of ponds, hedgerows and rough grassland have reduced the habitat available to widespread species. The rare species have also suffered due to the loss of their specific habitats (heathland and coastal sand dunes) to building development. Fragmentation of habitat is a particular problem for a group of animals with limited abilities to move long distances.

The Hampton Court Palace Flower Show signifies the first public event of Amphibian and Reptile Conservation – the new charity formed from the merger of Froglife and The Herpetological Conservation Trust.

For a free copy of the advice booklet ‘Dragons in your Garden’ please visit www.arc-trust.org/dragons or call Amphibian and Reptile Conservation on 01733 558844.

STATISTICS:
The declining fortunes of amphibians and reptiles

Of the UK’s 13 species of amphibians and reptiles, ten species are listed on the Government’s Biodiversity Action Plan (UKBAP) ‘Watchlist’.

Of Europe’s 85 species of amphibian, 23% now feature on the IUCN’s Red List of Threatened Species.

Of Europe’s 151 reptile species, 22% are on the Red List. Source: IUCN

Globally, one third of amphibians are threatened with extinction and half of all species are in decline. Source: IUCN