Wanting to start a Herp Society.

woahamie · 08-20-12, 02:26 PM

So, I want to start a herp society. Maybe not now, but in the near future.

I live in Miami, FL and there's really not anything nearby and I know a few people who would like to join one.

Does anyone have any tips/suggestions to start up this project?

StudentoReptile · 08-20-12, 03:26 PM

The first thing you should try to do is make sure you have good enough interest in your area. I will tell you right now (as someone who started their own herp club 2 yrs ago), it is difficult to start a herp society in today's day in age. With the ease and availability of the internet, it is hard to inspire folks to get off their butts away from the TV and the computer and be involved in a club on a voluntary basis. You will have a lot of "interest," but be prepared for a small handful of dedicated few who genuinely will support you and assist you in this endeavor. Plan on doing a lot of the legwork yourself. It can be fun, but it can be stressful a lot of the time when it seems like no one wants to help.

The next thing you should do is figure out exactly what it is you wish to achieve with a herp society: goals, how you aim to meet those goals, your distribution area, etc. Also, outline officer positions, and exactly what responsibilities those positions have. Although you may not mean it to be, you are basically starting this thing out as YOUR herp club. So if you want it to go in a certain direction, you need to outline EVERYTHING in a constitution & by-laws so later on, there will be no question about this or that. I know, its boring administrative stuff, but it will help "officially" establish the foundation for the future.

Realistically, just start getting a group together and find a place to meet. That'll be a start.

I'll be more than happy to give you any advice or suggestions. Email me at: ShiningSnakes@gmail.com

woahamie · 08-20-12, 03:46 PM

So, do you think it's worth it?
I mean, I get a lot of people at my job asking if there's anything they can do in order to get more into reptiles and such, so it got me thinking of doing something. Maybe not anything TOO big, just some local people, have road trips to reptile expos and whatnot.

I'll have to research more into it all, but I will definitely shoot you an email! Thanks!

StudentoReptile · 08-20-12, 03:58 PM

Worth it?

Again, depends on exactly what you're doing?

Let's take my herp society for example: starting in Sept, we'll be meeting once a month, fellowshiping with each other and talking shop, having guest speakers. We often have group field herping outings together, etc...lots of stuff you can't do sitting on a computer chatting on a FB group or a forum. We also do educational programs free of charge to anyone who asks: churches, schools, fairs, etc...just so WE have an opportunity to reach the general public about herps, especially kids. IMHO, that should the primary reason for any herp society: outreach. True, you're not going to get every one to suddenly like snakes overnight, but its opportunities to dispel myths and misconceptions, talk about the laws, etc. bascially getting to talk one-on-one with folks. You can't do that online. And we also do a lot of conservation stuff, and are working on restoration projects for some native species.

There's another local club that started up abuot an hour away. They meet once a month to talk shop. Nothing wrong with that, but its basically an extension of a Facebook group they made; just some local folks looking to trade/sell/buy from each other. There has been no discussions of outreach, nothing regarding conservation, etc. I've even heard reports of negligent behavior such as one of the officers releasing a non-native species. Its immature and disorganized. I have offered some guidance, as have a couple others, but they seem exclusively focused on themselves and basically being a "dealer's co-op" if you will.

I don't want to toot my own horn, but personally, I think a true herp society should strive to be closer to the former, and if you look across the country, that is the norm. There's nothing wrong with getting a group of likeminded hibbyists and carpooling to the nearest show or going in together on a frozen rodent order...but what are you giving back to the community?

woahamie · 08-20-12, 04:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by StudentoReptile

Worth it?

Again, depends on exactly what you're doing?

Let's take my herp society for example: starting in Sept, we'll be meeting once a month, fellowshiping with each other and talking shop, having guest speakers. We often have group field herping outings together, etc...lots of stuff you can't do sitting on a computer chatting on a FB group or a forum. We also do educational programs free of charge to anyone who asks: churches, schools, fairs, etc...just so WE have an opportunity to reach the general public about herps, especially kids. IMHO, that should the primary reason for any herp society: outreach. True, you're not going to get every one to suddenly like snakes overnight, but its opportunities to dispel myths and misconceptions, talk about the laws, etc. bascially getting to talk one-on-one with folks. You can't do that online. And we also do a lot of conservation stuff, and are working on restoration projects for some native species.

There's another local club that started up abuot an hour away. They meet once a month to talk shop. Nothing wrong with that, but its basically an extension of a Facebook group they made; just some local folks looking to trade/sell/buy from each other. There has been no discussions of outreach, nothing regarding conservation, etc. I've even heard reports of negligent behavior such as one of the officers releasing a non-native species. Its immature and disorganized. I have offered some guidance, as have a couple others, but they seem exclusively focused on themselves and basically being a "dealer's co-op" if you will.

I don't want to toot my own horn, but personally, I think a true herp society should strive to be closer to the former, and if you look across the country, that is the norm. There's nothing wrong with getting a group of likeminded hibbyists and carpooling to the nearest show or going in together on a frozen rodent order...but what are you giving back to the community?

Well, that's what I do plan to do. I live next door to a 1st grade teacher and she's always asking when I can come to her school and show her kids my different animals. I wanna do something like that, like what you do. Go to parties and showcase different animals. Have other reptile keepers come and talk. I'm still in the process of everything right now. Going over what I need to do. I know it's gonna take a lot of time and patience, but I'll be willing to do it.

StudentoReptile · 08-20-12, 03:58 PM

to answer your question, it's totally worth it, if you set it up right.

Jlassiter · 08-21-12, 03:40 AM

To get a community interested in being in a society you must have guest speakers/presenters. All other information can be found (right or wrong) on the internet.

Plus....Your idea of school presentations and other reptile related events is spot on.

As the other poster stated.....It all depends on what you do and how you get today's society away from the TVs and Computers.