The section will hold monthly activities which hope to help build up records and understanding of Guernsey’s fauna.
Many of Guernsey’s species are under-recorded. Even species as frequently seen as hedgehogs and rabbits have only a small number of recordings at the Guernsey Biological Records Centre.
In order to record species, the section hopes to use a number of methods including non-invasive footprint tunnels, camera traps and field sign searching.
The main species the section aims to cover are mammals, reptiles and amphibians, and those found in freshwater.

• To understand and study all our built heritage, parish churches, castles, and houses, but in particular the vernacular buildings of the period 1100-1800;
• To examine their siting, methods of construction and plan-forms, relating these to their social context and noting alterations and developments over the centuries;
• To record all such buildings as opportunity allows, especially those that are under threat from redevelopment or decay; those where current building work allows features of historic interest to be temporarily exposed to view; or those where access to the public is not normally possible;
• To provide house-owners and others who have an interest in and responsibility for ancient buildings with as great a knowledge as possible of the historic structure that concerns them, so that decisions affecting it may be made from an informed basis of historical facts;
• Where appropriate, to become involved in campaigns to prevent unnecessary loss of our interesting houses and other buildings.

In spite of what is popularly believed, only two of the nine main rock types found in Guernsey are actually Granites, the rest are Gneiss`s which are metamorphic, or rocks which have been altered by being re-heated, thus changing their chemical make up. The Granites are Igneous rocks which have originated from magma. Magma is the uppermost layer of molten rock. It is the rock that is erupted from volcanoes and has solidified either on the surface or in large chambers many kilometres deep underground.

It is the latter of these which Guernsey is composed. After millions of years of surface erosion these rocks have finally come out at the surface. They contain large amounts of Feldspar, which is a pink crystal that gives the rocks at Cobo their beautiful pink lustre. Feldspar is also a major constituent in the L`Eree Granite.

There are many sites of particular geological interest in Guernsey that are regularly visited by University groups. The geological section campaigns to preserve these.

The Bat section of the Société Guernesiaise was established in March 2016. These section helps to rehabilitate injured bats and carries out roost surveys to help identify the various species of bats found in Guernsey, and to record any changes to the populations of those species.

The section meets  on the 2^nd Thursday of every month at 8pm, in the Section room at Candie.

If you find an injured bat you should contact the GSPCA, who will contact the Bat Section.

Pictures by Elaine Mahy (bat in flight) and Sylvia Brouard

Resources

The Entomology Section is small, but was one of the original sections in La Société. The Section holds monthly meetings, sometimes on its own looking at the insects found at a particular place or moth trapping in the evening, but often with the Botany, Nature Conservation or Marine Biology Sections.

After identifying Tessellana tessellata (Brown-spotted Bush-cricket) as a new species in the British Isles in 2024, we plan to survey island sites this summer to assess the status of local Orthoptera.

The Bailiwick Bat Survey which as well as bat calls, also picks up the stridulations of our Crickets, has given us some clues for areas to investigate and see if we can locate adult specimens of some of the rarer and also new species of Crickets and Grasshoppers in the Bailiwick such as the Brown Spotted Bush Cricket and the Large Conehead.

The planned programme for 2025 for section members is as follows:

· February – Leaf-mines

· June – Orthoptera

· July – Orthoptera

· September – Ants and other invertebrates of the cliffs

· Shorter notice moth trapping will be notified as and when depending on weather conditions.

Any paid-up member of La Societe is welcome to join the Entomology Section, there is no additional charge. Please email entomology@societe.org.gg if you wish to join and receive updates of section events.

The Marine Biology Section is a small group of enthusiastic individuals who have an interest in the marine life of Guernsey.

We are involved in a number of projects and activities relating to Guernsey’s marine environment, including: ormer tagging, beach cleans, Seasearch, and much more. We are also proud to participate in a number of Nature Guernsey events throughout the year.

For more information on the section, or the events running this year, please visit the La Société Facebook page.