September 28, 2010

Let's stay connected!

The Gerry Martin Project is setting up its communications database.


If you would like to receive updates about all that is happening as well as be notified about up coming workshops and programs, please fill in the form at 

www.gerrymartin.in/form





September 20, 2010

Herpetology Workshop

Hunsur; October 2010

Over the last few years, there has been a significant increase in the number of people who are interested in reptiles and their conservation. This heartening change has also manifested in numerous snake rescue organizations in almost every town in the country. Another manifestation is in the information at the fingertips of children these days. They are able to name species from all over the world, know about their natural history and even their venom.
However, in all this change, there is very little context. This has given rise to a lot of damage - whether it is from our practices, or people getting hurt through less than ideal protocols and also, a lot of snakes getting injured or killed.

The Gerry Martin Project will be running a herpetology workshop at the end of October this year.

This workshop is aimed at creating a strong context to reptile conservation. We will not focus solely on snakes, but, work towards creating a larger understanding of reptile biology and conservation.

The workshop will start on the 30th of October at 10:30 AM and end on the 1st of November at around 4 PM. The location is a fruit orchard on the banks of a large lake in Rathnapuri, near the town of Hunsur on the Mysore - Coorg highway.
We will be staying in tents and coconut shacks, sleeping on mattresses.

The workshop module will include:
· Learning taxonomy of snakes, lizards and turtles/ tortoises
· Understanding the micro-habitat usage of reptiles
· Learning game tracking
· Snakebite first aid and treatment protocols
· Safety Protocol
· Build your own equipment
· Conservation issues
· Outdoor safety



Workshop Dates: 30/10/10 – 1/11/10
Venue: Ratnapuri, Hunsur
For further details and to register, please get in touch with Conan Dumenil on 9449010673 or conan@gerrymartin.in.

Urban Wilderness!

A naturalist’s beginning

With the explosion of media coverage of various wild subjects from whales and walruses to herpetologists and adventurers, children today are more exposed to what lies ‘out there’ than ever before. There is an ever-increasing interest in the animal world and adventure in the outdoors. However, much of this remains fantasy and children aren’t able to easily access wild areas or expanses of wilderness to explore.
Further, possibly because of the schedules they need to keep, children have not built the skills to safely and optimally explore and experience the outdoors.



The Gerry martin Project is trying to make these skills and contexts more accessible. Towards this, we are running a weekend workshop in October that will help children between the ages of 10 and 16 learn new skills, experience urban wildlife and develop ways in which they can start the process of conservation at home.

This workshop will be conducted at the Martin Farm on Sarjapur Road. In addition to all the naturalistic learning and skill building, children will also learn how to camp in the wilderness, cook on outdoor wood fires, follow safe protocol in the wild and generally develop a personal connect with the outdoors.
Gerry Martin will head the program along with two or three other naturalists. There will be at least one female instructor along and all faculty will have gone through a thorough orientation before the program.

Workshop Date: October 23rd and 24th.
Age Bracket: 10 to 16 years.

Activities will include:
• Exploring habitats used by various urban wildlife
• Understanding the role of the lesser known animals in the ecosystem
• Things to do to bring Nature home
• Canopy access systems
• Ornithological basics
• Herpetological basics
• Outdoor skills
• Creating aquatic ecosystems
• Night surveys
• Fun and games!






For more details or to register, write to conan@gerrymartin.in
or call Gerry on 9845779666 or Conan on 9449010673.