PhD opportunities

I would like to highlight two superb opportunities which might be of interest to anyone looking to do a PhD  specifically focusing on tropical frogs.  
At the moment there are  two new PhD positions at Manchester being made available to UK and other EU nationals (due to funding criteria). Both will provide fees and stipend subject to [...]

The Costa Rican Amphibian Research Centre

Last night I called in to visit my good friend Brian Kubicki in Guayacan during my trip back to San Jose.  If you are familiar with the blog, you will probably already know how much respect I have for Brian and how I admire his outstanding committment to amphibian conservation. Brian has now established two reserves, both purely dedicated to conserving the rarest  Costa [...]

Sloth Conservation in Costa Rica

Today I visited my old friends Judy and Luis Arroyo at Aviarios del Caribe, a wonderful rescue and research centre for injured and orphaned sloths on the Caribbean Coast of Costa Rica. Over the past 12 years or so I have seen the centre grow considerably and the important work they do increase on a [...]

Vivarium assistants

For the next couple of weeks I will be in Costa Rica, where I’ll be spending some time in the central highlands and also down on the Caribbean coast. Here I plan to visit a range of different animal conservation centres which I hope to report back to you about via the blog. So, while I am out there, if there is anything [...]

Denmark and Sweden Visits!

Today I must make a special entry to highlight some of the places I visited whilst in Denmark and Sweden over the past week, and to say a special thanks to the people I have met. Firstly, I would really like thank Søren Werther for kindly inviting me to Denmark in the first instance and I hope my contribution [...]

Fire-bellied Toad conservation

Today I met Lene Rasmussen, a really committed Danish amphibian conservationist. She is heading a conservation initiative for Fire-bellied Toads (Bombina bombina) on behalf of Copenhagen Zoo, which includes raising tadpoles in captivity at the Zoo and then releasing the young into original habitat. Working with colleagues, she has reared and released over 1000 of [...]

Rainforest Exhibition at Copenhagen Museum

Today I visited a really wonderful exhibition at the National Museum of Denmark in Copenhagen that focuses on several tribes of indians from Venezuela. It was absolutely brilliant to see the way they had integrated the objects with the back-lit graphic panels and other visual, audio, and super interactive displays, it was a sensory feast! [...]

Visit to Scandinavia

For the next week or so I will be in Scandinavia, visiting Denmark to lecture at an amphibian meeting at the University of Copenhagen, and also travelling to the wonderful Norden’s Ark in Sweden to discuss amphibian conservation. I hope to report back directly via video on our ‘Live’ page,  so anyone who might like see or [...]

Valley School visit

I just wanted to mention a word or two about a wonderful teaching session that’s taken place at the museum, it was brilliant. We had children visit us again from Valley School in Stockport, which is a special school for children with severe and complex learning and physical dificulties. Having different activities tailored to meet their individual  needs, the children really seemed to get alot from [...]

Moston Steps Programme

During the past month we have become involved with Moston Steps, a complimentary education programme for young people who are not in mainstream education. I was approached by Andrea Winn, our Curator of community exhibitions, who, together with our Rebecca Machin, are helping support a group of young people to produce their own exhibition. The idea is that whilst developing many [...]