2025 BHS Summer Meeting and AGM
Saturday, 14 June 2025 - Saturday, 14 June 2025

Ticket booking now open!

The 2025 BHS Summer Annual General Meeting will be held at the prestigious Manchester Museum - easily accessible by both road and public transport. The museum includes the Vivarium - an important collection of reptiles and amphibians with captive breeding of rare species a focus - Museum Vivarium

The Museum and Vivarium are well worth a visit so why not combine this with attending the meeting and join us for the afternoon!

The Summer meeting will as normal include a number of great herpetological talks as well as the Society Business section - provisional program is shown below - it's open to both members and non-members and we hope to be able to include guided tours of the Vivarium for meeting attendees.

As well as getting up to date with the Society's current status and key activities it's also a great opportunity to catch up with herpetological colleagues young and old and of course meet new ones - all within a friendly, relaxed environment. Not to be missed! BHS_AGM_2025_Poster

Ticket Booking - Easy!

- The meeting is free to BHS members - if you're logged in to the website, most of the required information for booking will be pre-populated on the booking form

- For non-members, there's a small charge of £10 to attend the meeting (or why not join the BHS?!)

Just click on the 'Book Tickets' button and follow the process. If any problems booking, please contact

Talks will include:

Dr. Gerardo Garcia, Head of Ectotherms, Chester Zoo

- Use of accelerometers in captive Komodo dragons as a tool to assess welfare, pattern of activities, use of environment and the applications to wild populations

- The first results on using minature radio transmitters powered with solar panels on Bermuda skinks

Matthew O'Donnell, Curator of Herpetology, Manchester Museum

- Breeding programs, conservation and research activities at the Museum Vivarium

Thom Lyons, Ecologist and PhD Researcher

- Assisting the recovery of Britains rarest amphibian; the northern pool frog (Pelophylax lessonae)

Since its discovery as a native species in the late 1990s, the northern pool frog has been the target of a species recovery project by ARC trust and Natural England. Now, following the successful reintroductions from Sweden to two sites in Norfolk, the project is looking to expand into new places. This PhD takes two major approaches to facilitate this; one by creating a Habitat Suitability Index (HSI) for pool frogs in the UK using species distribution models and pond occupancy studies. The other uses genetic methods to define native type pool frogs and eDNA to detect and identify both native and invasive water frogs. These methods aim to assist future ecologists who may work with water frogs and promote the recovery of the species in the UK.

Location

Kanaris Lecture Theatre within the Museum - will be sign posted from the main Museum entrance area

Provisional Program

12.30 - 13.00 Arrival and Registration

13.00 - 13.40 Matthew O'Donnell

13.45 - 14.30 - BHS AGM Business

14.30 - 15.15 - Break and Guided Tours of the Vivarium

15.15 - 16.00 - Thom Lyons

16.00 - 16.45 - Dr.Gerardo Garcia

16.45 - 17.00 Close and Exit

Travelling by Car?

Nearest parking to the Museum is `Car Park D: Booth Street West ' - Higher Chatham Street, Manchester, M15 6AR

Proposed BHS Council for 2025 / 26

Proposed list of Council members with current vacancies is here BHS_Council_2025_with_Nominees

Note: Nominations for any vacant Council posts are welcomed, irrespective of whether there is a current nominee - for information on any of the listed vacant posts or to submit a nomination, please contact either or

Draft Minutes of 2024 AGM - for approval at 2025 meeting

BHS_AGM_2024_PROVISIONAL_Minutes