{"id":32737,"date":"2013-12-06T09:56:39","date_gmt":"2013-12-06T09:56:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.reaseheath.ac.uk\/?p=32737"},"modified":"2014-10-31T09:10:32","modified_gmt":"2014-10-31T09:10:32","slug":"career-chat-inspires-herpetological-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.reaseheath.ac.uk\/career-chat-inspires-herpetological-students\/","title":{"rendered":"Career chat inspires herpetological students"},"content":{"rendered":"

Former animal management students Luke Harding and Simon Maddock described their adventures with some of the world\u2019s rarest reptiles and amphibians during a talk to Reaseheath\u2019s Herpetological and Entomological Society (RHES) yesterday.<\/p>\n

Both Luke, 25, and Simon, 24, have gone on to become specialist herpetologists since completing their Level 3 Diploma in Animal Management in 2007. They have remained close friends since their schooldays and regularly share and discuss their research findings.<\/p>\n

Luke has just returned from the Caribbean where he has been involved in a project to reinstate an endangered species of frog to the islands of Montserrat and Dominica. Called the \u2018Mountain Chicken\u2019, the frog used to be Dominica\u2019s national dish and gets its name because it tastes like chicken.<\/p>\n

The frog population on both islands has been drastically hit by disease, illegal hunting and habitat loss. Scientists are desperately trying to save the species through a captive breeding programme and by raising its profile among the local population. Alongside working closely with London Zoo, which has a captive breeding facility, one of Luke\u2019s key tasks was to help run Dominica\u2019s first highly successful Mountain Chicken Day last September.<\/p>\n

As well as describing his Caribbean adventures, Luke also talked about his part in a research project \u00a0on Komodo dragons in Indonesia\u2026and how he got to follow his dream.<\/p>\n

On leaving Reaseheath, Luke began a degree in zoo biology at Nottingham Trent University but left after he was offered an internship at Chester Zoo. He completed his degree later via the Open University. Following his internship he worked as a herpetologist for Marwell Wildlife in Hampshire and then at Colchester Zoo, where he became Deputy Head of the herpetological department. He then transferred full time onto the mountain chicken project.<\/p>\n

An equally well travelled Simon outlined his involvement in active research projects in India, Ecuador Papua New Guinea and the Seychelles. He is currently based at the Natural History Museum in London, where he is researching for a joint PhD on the evolution and conservation of amphibians and snakes in the Seychelles in collaboration with the University College London.<\/p>\n

Simon says that his Reaseheath experience prepared him well for his academic career. He gained a degree and Masters degree in zoology at Bangor University before moving on to study for his doctorate.<\/p>\n

Both former students took part in a lively Q and A session after their talk. Luke said: \u201cIt\u2019s great to be back here. Reaseheath has always been a fantastic institution with great staff but it\u2019s been good to catch up with all the new, top end facilities. Hopefully we\u2019ve shown the current students what they can achieve through hard work, determination and drive.<\/p>\n

Advised Simon: \u201cIt\u2019s really important that you attend events, gain contacts and keep networking. There are loads of opportunities out there but they won\u2019t just be handed to you.”<\/p>\n

\"Luke<\/a>

Luke Harding and Simon Maddock with Josh Flood and Nathan Brookes-Bennett, chairs RHES<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Former animal management students Luke Harding and Simon Maddock described their adventures with some of the world\u2019s rarest reptiles and amphibians during a talk to Reaseheath\u2019s Herpetological and Entomological Society […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":32768,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[388,468,225],"tags":[58,211],"yoast_head":"\nCareer chat inspires herpetological students - Reaseheath College<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reaseheath.ac.uk\/career-chat-inspires-herpetological-students\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Career chat inspires herpetological students - Reaseheath College\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Former animal management students Luke Harding and Simon Maddock described their adventures with some of the world\u2019s rarest reptiles and amphibians during a talk to Reaseheath\u2019s Herpetological and Entomological Society […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.reaseheath.ac.uk\/career-chat-inspires-herpetological-students\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Reaseheath College\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-12-06T09:56:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2014-10-31T09:10:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.reaseheath.ac.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/Luke-Harding-and-Simon-Maddock-with-Josh-Flood-and-Nathan-Brookes-Bennett-chairs-RHES-1030x510.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1030\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"510\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Liz Green\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Liz Green\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.reaseheath.ac.uk\/career-chat-inspires-herpetological-students\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.reaseheath.ac.uk\/career-chat-inspires-herpetological-students\/\",\"name\":\"Career chat inspires herpetological students - 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