Snakes and other reptiles may not be to everyone’s liking – but Peter Barron talks to a man whose life has been dedicated to caring for them in the North-East countryside

IT was during a childhood camping holiday in France that John Grundy’s lifelong passion for reptiles began.

As a nine-year-old, John, spent almost the entire two weeks of his holiday staring at a dry stone wall, mesmerised by the antics of lizards.

These days, he is one of the North-East’s most respected naturalists – or herpetologists – to be exact, having spent the past 30 years wandering round the wilder areas of the region, looking for reptiles and becoming an expert on their behaviour and habitats.

His latest project, launched late last year, is entitled Revealing Retiles and it’s a dream job for someone with his background. He has been employed by Durham Wildlife Trust to manage a team of volunteers to build up a more accurate picture of the reptile population in the countryside of Durham, South Tyneside, Gateshead, Sunderland, and the Tees Valley.

The project, due to last two years, is funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and, so far, John has recruited around 60 volunteers to help him build a better understanding of reptiles in this beautiful part of the world.

“We know where the hotspots for reptiles are but it would be great to come across some unrecorded populations,” says John, who is vice-chair of the North-East Reptile and Amphibian Group.

Apart from the more exotic species that sometimes escape from collectors, the only snakes to be found in the North-East are adders and grass snakes. Adders are predominantly located in the uplands of Weardale and Teesdale, although there are a few lowland populations out there too.

There are historical records of grass snakes in the Derwent Valley but John points out that a lot of work is being done on habitat management to support the species.

One of John’s big concerns is that snake populations are in decline because of a fragmentation of natural habitat due to development and adders also suffer from public ignorance about the danger they present.

To put it into perspective, no one has died from an adder bite in the last 40 years and there have been 14 deaths in the past 140 years. Nevertheless, there is evidence of adders being targeted for attacks. In one recent case, four adders were found battered to death near Derwent reservoir in response to a dog being bitten.

“It was an over-reaction fuelled by not the most sympathetic press coverage,” says John, who was born and raised in Jesmond but now lives in Burnopfield, County Durham.

“Dogs do get bitten but it’s important to watch for signs warning that they should be kept on a lead in areas where adders are known to be.

“It’s about having respect for wildlife, especially in native habitats. We shouldn’t be persecuting creatures that live naturally in the countryside ¬– it’s simply not right.”

Although snakes inevitably grab the headlines, John’s eager to hear about sightings of all kinds of reptiles. For example, he’d love to know if anyone has slow worms in their gardens or allotments.

“We know of one really good slow worm population on an urban allotment in Whitley Bay but it would be great to hear about others,” he says.

The good news about slow worms for those who keep allotments is that slugs form 90 per cent of their diet.

“Common lizards are also very entertaining to have around, so let us know if you have any of those,” adds John.

One of the of the aims of the project is to produce a definitive “Reptile Population Atlas” that can be used to help with habitat management.

“In order for us to understand reptiles better, and plan more sympathetic habitats and land management processes, we need to find out where they are, where they are not, and how they are doing,” says John.

He’s walked a lot of miles, looking out for reptiles since being inspired by lizards scurrying around on that French camping holiday all those years ago. Now he could do with a bit of help in finding out more about what’s hidden in the North-East countryside – and how we can help shape the landscape to help wildlife flourish.

To find out more about the Revealing Reptiles project, go to the Durham Wildlife Trust website at www.durhamwt.com or email John Grundy at jgrundy@durhamwt.co.uk