Overview

ETUK is one of the leading ecology training providers in the UK and strives to provide a range of field and online courses suitable for conservation and ecology consultancy. We provide a range of online courses including Habitat Management, Habitat Restoration, Managing Woodlands for Biodiversity, Reptile and Amphibian ID, Mammal ID, Invasive Species, Surveying for Protected Species, Phase 1 habitat mapping, and various bat courses. Most courses are UK-biased.  

The company is run by Sue Searle BSc PGDip MCIEEM who is a principal ecologist and senior tutor with over 20 years experience in the ecology sector. We are passionate about wildlife, wild places and encouraging people to progress their careers! 

Get 10% off all online courses by Ecology Training UK Ltd (ETUK)
if you book and pay online using this code: 8ZV1BNQH21AS. 

 

Reptile and Amphibian ID and Surveying

Learn How To Identify UK Reptiles And Amphibians

This online short course is designed to take you through how to identify all the UK native species of Reptiles and Amphibians. It covers physical appearance and ID features, ecology, distribution, legal protection and survey techniques.

Guidance on further reading is given.

The course comprises of 3 modules which are viewed online. You will be sent the links weekly to give you a chance to do background reading and with Module 3 you will receive the quiz. The first module will be sent to you when you book onto the course.

Module 1 – British Reptiles
Module 2 – British Amphibians
Module 3 – Surveying for Reptiles and Amphibians + course Quiz

Other Details:

Who is the course aimed at?

• People who want to pursue a career in ecological consultancy or conservation.
• People interested in a career in ecology.
• People who have a general interest in reptiles and amphibians
• People who may need to identify UK reptiles and amphibians during surveys

Course format: The course is in the form of slides containing text, illustrations and photographs with links to texts. At the end there will be a short photographic quiz where you can test your new skills. You will send your answers via email to be marked. On completion you will be issued with a certificate of attendance if you get 70% or more.

What students say about this course:

“Thank you for the course; it was really enjoyable and very educational!” PS

Time commitment: This 3 module short course is expected to take around 4-5 hours to complete. There is no specific time limit for completing the course, but you will not receive a certificate until you have submitted your quiz answers. You will have access to the material for 6 weeks.

Learning outcomes: By the end of the course you will be able to identify all native UK reptiles and amphibians and also know about their distribution and ecology, legal protection, as well as survey techniques.

Core texts:

• FSC Guide to the reptiles and amphibians of Britain and Ireland.
• Frogs and Toads by Trevor Beebee. Published by Whittet Books (2004).
• Herpetofauna Workers Manual*
• Great Crested Newt Conservation Handbook*
• Reptile Habitat Management Handbook*
• Amphibian Habitat Management Handbook*

* Available online and links are given within the course.

Price: The course costs £75 (plus VAT) or only £68 (plus VAT) if you book and pay online using the code 8ZV1BNQH21AS. This does not include the price of the core texts.

How to book: You can book on-line on https://ecologytraining.co.uk/course/reptile-and-amphibian-id-and-surveying/.

 

Reptile Ecology and Surveying

This introductory level course will greatly enhance your understanding of UK reptiles including ID, distribution, ecology and surveys. The course is especially relevant to consultancy as a huge proportion of consultancy work during the summer months involves reptile surveying and translocation projects.

During this online course you will:

• Learn to identify UK reptile species including some non-native naturalised species.
• Learn about their ecology, distribution and the legislation relating to reptiles.
• Learn best practice in handling of reptiles.
• Learn how to identify reptiles from their shed skins.
• Learn about surveying and mitigation strategies.

The course is delivered by our Principal Ecologist and Senior Tutor Sue Searle BSc PGDip MCIEEM on video and comprises a ‘classroom’ theory session and videos on reptile surveying and handling.

Playing time: xxx

Study time: 4-5 hours to allow for breaks and taking notes.

Price: The course costs £92 (plus VAT) or only £83 (plus VAT) if you book and pay online using the code 8ZV1BNQH21AS. This does not include the price of the core texts.

How to book: You can book on-line on https://ecologytraining.co.uk/course/reptile-ecology-and-surveying/.

 

Great Crested Newt Ecology and Surveying

Great Crested Newts are widespread across lowland England and occupy a range of habitats, in rural, suburban and urban areas. Although they breed in ponds, they spend much of their life on land. This means that there is potential for great crested newts to be present on many development sites or to be encountered during vegetation clearance. Therefore it is important that ecologists and land managers know how to survey for them and have a good understanding of their ecology. This course is a good basis for gaining a survey licence (experience also required).

This course is two videos:

Part 1 covers Ecology, identification, legislation, threats, habitat management and diseases. Run time 1hr 34 mins.

Part 2 covers surveying for GCN including bottle trapping, netting, egg searching, torching, eDNA sampling and Habitat Suitability Index assessments. Run time 35 mins.

You will also be provided with the Great Crested Newt Conservation Handbook, the HSI instructions and Calculator and the Amphibian Habitat Management Handbook as handouts.

Course content:

This is an introductory level course suitable for those working in consultancy or conservation. The course will cover the following topics:

• Ecology and habitat requirements
• Newt identification
• Legislation and licences
• Survey techniques
• Habitat Suitability Index

At the end of the course you will do a short quiz and if you get over 70% you will get a Certificate.

What our students say about this course

“The course was great! I really enjoyed it and it’s made me even more enthusiastic about becoming an ecologist and being able to do things like this full time. I’m really looking forward to hopefully being able to gain some practical experience this year to go alongside it.” Rachel

Price: The course costs £105 (plus VAT) or only £95 (plus VAT) if you book and pay online using the code 8ZV1BNQH21AS. 

How to book: You can book on-line on https://ecologytraining.co.uk/course/great-crested-newt-ecology-and-surveying/.

 

How to book

Get 10% off all online courses by Ecology Training UK Ltd (ETUK)
if you book and pay online using this code: 8ZV1BNQH21AS. 

You can book on-line on https://ecologytraining.co.uk/courses/.

Once you have booked, we will e-mail you to confirm that your booking has been received and you will then be able to start the course straight away. 

Need an invoice?

If you are a company and require an invoice do NOT book here but email us instead: ecologytraininguk@gmail.com. You will need to give us your company details and purchase order (if you have one) and we will raise an invoice. Joining instructions will be sent separately.

Questions?

Email ecologytraininguk@gmail.com or call Sue on 07818073660.