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Archives for October 2023

National Stress Awareness Day

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National Stress Awareness Day is a sponsored event hosted by the International Stress Management Association (ISMA), a registered charity promoting the dangers of stress and the best practices to manage it. It takes place on the first Wednesday of November, which this year is November 1st.

Their website details the severe negative impacts that chronic stress can have on one’s health, such as hypertension and loss of sociability, as well as a step-by-step guide on how to recognize and address these issues.

There have been several studies conducted and years of research that show Green Spaces have a significant positive impact on one’s physical and mental health. Experiencing the outdoors and getting your blood pumping boasts a variety of physical health benefits, which has the knock-on effect of helping to alleviate stress and worry. Blood pressure and stress levels are likely to decrease, and reuniting with nature will improve your mood.

Froglife has several projects around the country that serve to promote these spaces and their benefits, such as Green Pathways for Life. This November 1st, to commemorate National Stress Awareness Day, Froglife encourages you to visit a local Green Space or sign up to volunteer at a local nature reserve. It won’t take long for you to experience firsthand these wonderful benefits, and we hope you will join us in the discussion of the importance of our continued conservation efforts.

 

A special award for a special Toad Patroller

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Teresa Baker is a very special Toad Patroller. She manages the Ringwood Toad Patrol in Hampshire and has done so since 1989, rescuing over 30,000 toads in the process!

She will be stepping down as the Patrol Manager at the end of this year, taking a well-earned rest, and we wanted to acknowledge her long service, so sent along a certificate that was presented to her by her Toad Patrol team. 

Toads on Roads simply wouldn’t be able to operate without dedicated and hardworking people like Teresa, so we can’t thank her and her team enough for what they have done throughout the years. 

If you want to know more about our Toads on Roads project and what you can do to help, click here. 

Teresa with her certificate

 

 

Love-hate relationships with snakes

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Written by Kaitlin Oliver, Transforming Lives Trainee

Snakes have captured the hearts of many and struck fear into others. From loving owners who cater to their pets’ every whim to people struggling with phobias jumping in their boots when they see one. Whether you love or hate snakes, there is an abundance of misinformation about them that can be cleared up with a little education.

When it comes to keeping snakes as pets, they are very relaxed when treated correctly. Unfortunately, to many owners’ dismays, snakes lack the brain structures to feel emotion, but do have the ability to trust you. Despite this, snakes can be very loveable in their behaviour as they can recognise you. Pet snakes tend to use their owners as climbing trees and will wrap around them for warmth.

In contrast to this affection for snakes, Ophidiophobia is an extreme, overwhelming fear of snakes. While this fear is uncontrollable for the affected, it can lead to harmful misinformation and aggressive behaviour towards our native snakes. Sadly, this means our misunderstood adders are persecuted by people who believe that they are a danger to them.

The truth is, adders are extremely unlikely to bite and use their venom. This is because it takes a large amount of energy and it’s a waste of resources to do so. Its better used on prey and wouldn’t kill a potential predator fast enough to save the adder. Their bites are painful but rarely dangerous. They are very shy and will avoid you at all costs.

Adders need protection not persecution. If you would like to help our adders, you can buy a ‘Sponsor a Snake’ gift in our Froglife Shop for yourself or someone special. 

You can find out even more about the UK’s native snakes on our website.

How to make a wildlife pond

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Written by Jade Walton, Transforming Lives Trainee

Autumn and winter are the perfect times to create your own wildlife pond in your garden. Whether big or small, a pond dedicated to wildlife can be hugely beneficial to the wildlife in your area.

To support amphibians, it is best that the pond you create is at least 2 metres in diameter to give them ample space for breeding. Shelves of different water depths are also beneficial to create habitats for a diverse range of pond invertebrates. However, do make sure part of your amphibian pond is at least 60cm deep to protect any future amphibian inhabitants from extreme temperatures.

The next step, once the pond is dug, is to use the appropriate liner. This could be made of rubber, clay, PVC, or you could use a preformed pond made of plastic or fibreglass. To fill your lined pond you could either wait for it to fill naturally with rain over the winter months, or use appropriately treated tap water.

After the pond has filled, you can either wait for it to naturally populate with plants, or you could plant it up yourself with specific local pond plant species to encourage our amphibian friends.

Then comes the wait. It is likely your pond will quickly become home to invertebrates such as water snails and beetle larvae, but it may take a little longer to attract amphibian populations. You may get lucky and have amphibians breed in your pond in the spring after its creation, but do not be disheartened if it takes a few years. Your pond has much value beyond being an amphibian breeding and hunting site. It will support a plethora of underwater invertebrates and will provide drinking water for your local mammal and bird populations.

Some frogs may overwinter at the bottom of the pond and so need some consistency of water temperature. Should your pond freeze over, it is advised to gently brush away any snow as this blocks out valuable sunlight used by your pond plants to create oxygen. This is the best way to prevent winterkill in frog populations. Be sure not to crack the ice with force, as this can cause harm to all pond inhabitants.

For a more detailed guide to pond creation, look to your Just Add Water guide downloadable on our website or available for purchase in the Froglife Shop.

Be sure to let us know how you get on!

How can you help wildlife this winter?

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Written by Ellia Cobb, Transforming Lives Trainee.

As the weather is getting colder and the temperature starts to drop, reptiles and amphibians are getting ready for brumation. Brumation is similar to hibernation in that it is a state of deep sleep undergone throughout the colder months as they cannot survive winter conditions. Amphibians and reptiles will however come out to forage during warmer periods. 

There are different things you can do at this time of year to help brumating animals such as building your own hibernaculum or creating a log pile. Creating a hibernaculum is simple and if you have leftover garden waste from the summer, this is a great use for it!

You start by digging a hole, it doesn’t have to be too wide or deep, just enough to retain heat to keep reptiles and amphibians warm. Once you have done this, you can start filling the hole with logs, rocks and bricks. Once you have filled some of the hole, you can start piling the larger logs and sticks a little higher than ground level to then cover with softer things such as leaf litter and bramble (these help to trap the warmth). Finally, you can use the mud you dug up to then cover up the hibernaculum, remembering to leave some gaps so that the animals can get in and out. 

If you don’t like the idea of digging, log piles can be just as effective by stacking logs, branches, rocks and leaf litter. This also makes a great habitat for brumating reptiles and amphibians.

 

It is super important not to disturb compost heaps, log piles or even piles of leaves during the colder months.

More Ideas:

You can find even more resources and ideas for making your green space more wildlife-friendly here.

 

International Men’s Day: male species

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Written by Chloe Davey, Transforming Lives Trainee. 

Ever since I was a young girl, I’ve always had strong bond with nature. Where did this fascination and passion begin? I’ve quite a few people inspire me growing up, I would watch David Attenborough and Steve Backshall every time they were on tv. However, my biggest influence is my dad. He’d take me out on regular walks around nature reserves, identifying every butterfly, bird and animal we came across. As a thank you to these great men and to celebrate International Men’s Day, I would like to discuss some of our native male reptile and amphibian species. 

Amphibians

Great crested newt males are easily identifiable with their long, wavy crest stretching across it’s back and tail. However, this magnificent crest can only be seen during mating season to help attract a female. These sweethearts even perform a special courtship ‘dance’ by standing on their front legs and waving their tail from side to side. Male toads, along with the other amazing creatures I will be discussing are smaller than their female counterparts. In breeding season, the males will migrate to the pond they were born, eagerly waiting for the female’s arrival. Froglife has an amazing project called ‘Toads on Roads’ where you can volunteer and get to see this migration for yourself.

A male great crested newt swimming in a pond

Reptiles

Male reptiles visually differ from their female counterparts as they are more colourful. Male slow worms are easily identifiable as they are mostly pale, but can sometimes have small blue scales. Male adders similarly are also pale in colour, but instead have a dark zig-zag pattern stretched across their back. I must admit my favourite male of our native species is the adder. I love its contrasting design of light grey body with a dark and striking pattern.

Male adders are grey or silver along their sides, unlike females which are brown (Photo: Matt Wilson).

I’m always thrilled to see these wonderful creatures and help maintain their habitats. As I said, my dad has always encouraged my love of nature. Now when we go on nature walks, we teach each other about the animals we’ve seen.

Is there someone who has inspired your love of nature?

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