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Winter Walks

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Written by Paul Arestides, Transforming Lives Trainee

It’s the most wonderful time of the year.

Our reptiles and amphibians may be tucked away for the winter, but the month of December is a great time to explore our two public reserves in Peterborough. A cold, frosty morning walk or a leisurely afternoon stroll on a winters day is sometimes what’s needed, especially after the festivities!

Eye Green nature reserve is a 12 hectare site in the village of Eye Green in Cambridgeshire just outside Peterborough. It was originally part of the Northam Brickworks and was declared a nature reserve in 1996. The site has a long history very much connected to the local area. We manage the site for the benefit of our reptiles and amphibians and for the enjoyment of visitors throughout the year. A large lake dominates the reserve with an array of birds, visiting otters and other wildlife around the site.

Boardwalks, which runs along the river Nene, is a 7.8 hectare site owned by Peterborough City Council and Froglife help to look after the site for the benefit of not just reptiles and amphibians, but other wildlife visitors too. It makes for a perfect place to relax, walk along the various trails or go for a run.

Both reserves offer an escape from the hustle and bustle of city life and gives a chance to get closer to nature. 

 

 

 

World Kindness Day

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Written by Paul Arestides, Transforming Lives Trainee

On November 13th it’s World Kindness Day 2024, a global observance dedicated to celebrating and promoting acts of kindness. The day serves as a reminder of the positive impact that individuals can have through kindness in communities, and the world at large. It encourages people to perform intentional acts of kindness and foster a culture of compassion and generosity.

This is also a time when we can extend this kindness and compassion to wildlife, and show our love for all creatures. Why not do some of the following:

  1. Create a log pile in the garden or on the allotment. This is a fun exercise to do with all the family, gather up logs and stack them up to create a micro habitat for insects. This will then become a food source for hedgehogs, birds and and also shelter for frogs and toads.
  2. Organise a litter pick with friends, family or neighbours in your area. Not only will it enhance your park or street, you’ll be helping wildlife that can become entangled or even ingest any rubbish that has been thrown.
  3. Feed the birds – get those feeders full & ready for the colder months and watch the birds come into your garden, balcony or open space. Feeding birds continually throughout the year has helped urban populations. Due to loss of habitat and the needs to eat more in colder periods, our open spaces provide a haven for birds looking for food.
  4. Be kind to yourself and step outside, find a woodland or open space and feel nature around you. Whether it’s a lunch break or a weekend stroll, take the time to absorb what nature has to offer, it’s great for the mind and your general wellbeing.
  5. Build a pond – no better time than to add a pond to your garden or a water feature on a balcony, why not see if the local allotments would be happy for you to get people together and create a wild space? Pond creation is not only good for us it’s a huge benefit to wildlife like frogs, toads, newts and more. Find out how to create a pond here. 
  6. Think about planting a wildflower area. This could be a part of the garden or a pot on a window ledge. Planning now to sow directly in March and April, then see how you have benefitted pollinators for the summer months.

So, let’s all show kindness to each other and our amazing natural world for this coming World Kindness Day 2024.

Winter Volunteering at Our Reserves

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Written by Jade Walton, Transforming Lives Trainee

For the management of our Peterborough sites, we rely on the help of volunteers to get as much work done as possible for the benefit of our local reptiles and amphibians.

During the spring and summer months this mainly consists of helping with our surveying efforts, but during the colder months, our work is just as, if not even more important.

Once the weather is cold enough for our reptile and amphibian species to brumate (similar to hibernating), we must get to work with habitat management. This includes pond restoration, creation, and management, as well as scrub clearance, hibernaculum and log pile creation, and setting up and maintaining survey routes for the next survey season.

Given the size of our reserves and the limited time window to conduct the habitat management, this is not an easy task! Hence our call for volunteers at each of our Peterborough reserves. Volunteering dates run throughout the year, mostly on week days, but with occasional Saturday dates.

Volunteering with us is a great way to stay active during the winter, and provides an opportunity to learn new skills such as pond management and tree coppicing. It also gives you the chance to connect with other nature lovers, and to socialise with like-minded people.

At Froglife, we are extremely grateful to all of our volunteers, past, present, and future.
If you would like to join us at one of our volunteer days, or would just like some more information, please email our reserve warden clare.middleton@froglife.org

Festival of Winter Walks

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Written by Amy Stocking, Leaping Forward for Dementia Project Manager 

Dr. Iain showing our Leaping Forward for Dementia group his geology maps.

Even when it is cold outside, it is still really beneficial to get outside for your physical and mental wellbeing.

Light levels (measured in lux) are lower in Winter but you can still access 2000 lux on an overcast day, compared to 500 lux from sitting indoors! Lux will help to stimulate the production of serotonin which boosts your mood.

A great way to top up your serotonin is to wrap up warm and keep moving by joining a guided walk. Our Leaping Forward for Dementia group in London recently enjoyed a geology walk around Streatham Common led by Dr. Iain Boulton from Lambeth Council. He gave a fascinating insight into the ground beneath us and how the council are using this knowledge to inform how they look after the local environment, decide where to plant trees and decide where to create wetland areas to help the local amphibian population.

The group loved looking at geology maps of South London and asking lots of questions. Thank you so much for your time Dr. Iain!

Written by Madeleine Barnes, Transforming Lives Trainee.

Going for a wander outside might not be first on your list of activities in the colder months, but don’t dismiss the idea! The world is just as beautiful in the winter as in any other season if you take the time to appreciate it – leafless trees allow grander views of the land, snow blanketing everything in pristine white, and you can still see plenty of animals going about their lives.

The Festival of Winter Walks is an event that runs from mid December to mid January, established three decades ago by the Ramblers, a charity dedicated to supporting all kinds of walkers and protecting our rights to access the countryside and the pathways linking amazing places.

The festival encourages community connection and appreciation of the amazing spaces available to us – plus, even a short walk outside in nature will provide a much needed reprieve from the hustle and bustle of the holiday season.

So, head outside! Join a local group walk, take family and friends, or have a solo adventure. Whether it’s somewhere new or somewhere familiar, share your winter experience with us on social media, and if you live in the Peterborough area consider visiting one of Froglife’s public reserves: Boardwalks in the city centre and Eye Green just north of Eye village.

Happy rambling!

Make a ‘Frogflake’

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Making snowflakes is a fun way to decorate a space for winter, and all you really need is paper and a pair of scissors. But what if your snowflake could be frogs instead? In fact, you could make any animal into a snowflake!

1. Take an A4 piece of paper and fold a corner by lining the short edge with the long edge.

2. Remove the rectangular section to leave a triangular shape

3. Fold the triangle in half to make a smaller triangle

4. Fold the triangle into thirds (this may take some trial and error, or you can use a protractor to measure three 30° angles).

5. Cut off the top to make a flat edge.

6. Draw your design on the remaining space. Make sure the image connects on multiple points of both sides, or your snowflake will fall apart!

7. Carefully cut out your design with scissors. Tools like hole punches are useful for cutting out clean circles.

8. Unfold your cutout to see your final snowflake!

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!

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