Projects

What our animals are doing this month

January 1, 2026 by Admin

Written by Andrew Wood, Trainee

Whilst most reptiles and amphibians are safely tucked up in a gap or hole somewhere happily in brumation, the common toad has other plans.

By the end of January, as the weather begins to warm up, thousands of toads have one thing on their mind! They begin to make the annual migration back to the ponds where they were born, to help secure the future of the next generation of toads.

These breeding ponds can be quiet and still for many months of the year, but with wetter weather and warmer climates the toads wake up from their slumber and march to the pond, breaking the silence and calm of the water. With load calling, wrestling and jostling for the best mates and partners, the water comes alive for a few weeks. In some cases this may all be done and dusted in days and as the temperature rises above 7 degrees celsius, long strings of spawn are left in the water and weed around the pond.

The migration is a tough one for the toads. They are forced to cross roads and highways under the cover of darkness, which leads to hundreds losing their lives, all in the name of love.

The amorous amphibians need your help to get to these ponds safely. You can volunteer and join your local Toad Patrol and join the Toads on Roads Heroes to safely collect and move these fabulous animals to safety.

Will you answer the call!!??

Dementia Action Week at Froglife

May 1, 2025 by Admin

Written by Zak Mather-Gratton, Somerset Green Pathways for Life Project Officer

From May 19th to 25^th, people across the country will participate in Dementia Action Week, which aims to raise awareness about the condition and of course… to take action!

At Froglife we have projects in London and Somerset enabling people living with dementia and their carers to get involved in wildlife conservation, using nature connection to help people live well with the condition. We challenge persistent stigmas around dementia, helping people find confidence and maintain sense of identity by creating non-judgemental social spaces for people to come together over a shared activity outdoors.

We aim to make getting outside accessible to everyone, sessions are free and we can help with transport. One of our longstanding participants put it like this “We take an individual approach with things. Being allowed to be ourselves, that the group does for us, with no judgement, if I can do it or I can’t do it, it doesn’t matter. That’s the essence of what it’s about.”

To mark Dementia Action Week, join us at one of our open days this May, contact details are below.

For Frome, Somerset, you can email: zak.mathergratton@froglife.org or call : 07949 572849

For South London, you can email: Dylan.Jackson-French@froglife.org or call: 07377 970844

You can also find further information on these projects here.

Introducing our new Trainees

July 1, 2024 by Admin

With the start of the first couple of weeks for our new Trainees on the London Blue Chain project, we wanted to introduce them to our followers officially. See below for their stories and how they came to be with us at Froglife:

Isabella Bromfield:

Isabella is a 23-year-old London Blue Chain Project Trainee committed to helping people and the environment in both her personal and professional life. Since graduating with a BA in Geography from the University of Manchester in 2022, Isabella has worked in a variety of roles, evidencing her broad interests and commitment to making a positive impact.

Her interests include studying themes of place attachment, community, underdog species, displacement and environmental degradation. This variety of focusses have led her to take on various roles, including Programmes Co-Ordinator at the diversity and inclusion-focussed charity Blueprint for All, and Conference Admin at the Royal Geographical Society.

Over the past two years, Isabella has searched for the opportunity to collaborate with local organisations which recognise the interconnectedness of wildlife and people. She was particularly drawn to Froglife after discovering our dedication to conserving amphibians, reptiles, biodiversity and habitats through education, practical conservation and public engagement.

Isabella has a passion for working with the ‘underdog’ and sharing knowledge with those often overlooked within the discourse and discussions. As a life-long South Londoner, she is particularly looking forward to working across allotments, connecting with local volunteers, and discovering more about native wildlife species. She is especially excited to contribute to helping embed knowledge amongst communities to ensure the protection of biodiversity for generations to come.

Rose Williams:

Rose is a new trainee on the London Blue Chain project for Froglife. As a regular user of footpaths along London’s Green Chain, creating a wildlife corridor for reptiles and amphibians along the route is a dream come true.

Previously, Rose studied Politics, afterwards working as a project manager in recruitment and marketing. More recently, she’s been making and selling craft gelato while volunteering in a healthy living project for early years in south London.

Access to nature is a strong motivator for Rose, and she was drawn to Froglife’s commitment to engaging people from all walks of life in projects on their doorstep. When volunteering on projects within Lambeth she enjoyed working with local communities in creative ways, sharing knowledge and skills collaboratively, to develop habits that are good for people and good for the planet.

Rose is very much looking forward to developing a deep understanding of the lives of amphibians and reptiles and of habitat creation, with a view to empowering others to get stuck in and enjoy the benefits of nurturing their local wildlife.

Mariam Turay:

Mariam is a London Blue Chain project Trainee who has a background in fine art photography and previously worked for arts organisations. She founded a project in 2021 named Wild Greenery, specialising in carnivorous plants collaborating with sound and 3D design artists. Transitioning from art to ecology, Mariam trained in practical wildlife conservation as a Keeping it Wild Trainee at the London Wildlife Trust supporting youth engagement and forest schools. After her training she went on to gain a qualification for forest school training and is currently finishing her practical horticulture qualification at Walworth Gardens. Mariam also leads a BeePoC group for people of colour to learn holistic practices in beekeeping at a city farm and river conservation group Stonebridge Lock Coalition with freshwater invertebrates’ identification.

Mariam applied to Froglife to learn more on aquatic plants and habitat creation. She is looking forward to working with various communities within south London, focusing on reptiles and amphibians and supporting creative projects based on wildlife habitats. She is also eager to learn about bogs as well as ponds. She wants to learn from conservationists on visual surveying and leap to different sites to understand lizards.

Mariam applied to Froglife to learn about diseases affecting amphibians and reptiles and to raise more awareness of these species with educational sessions. She also wants to learn about habitat restoration for endangered animals and plants. Froglife’s support in creative and holistic projects with vulnerable communities is what Mariam wants to dig into within her year as a trainee.

Winter Volunteering at Our Reserves

December 21, 2023 by Admin

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

World Volunteer Day

November 28, 2023 by Admin

Written by Kaitlin Oliver, Transforming Lives Trainee

scottish volunteers Volunteers play a big part in the world of conservation. Without volunteers many nature reserves wouldn’t be where they are today. December 5^th is an opportunity to recognize and celebrate the efforts of volunteers worldwide and to promote the value of volunteerism.

Volunteering is a fantastic way of connecting to the community and making a difference, especially in conservation. Not only are you helping nature and all its inhabitants, but volunteering can also benefit you personally in a multitude of ways. Being out in nature can significantly improve your mental health, as well as be a great source of exercise. Making friends and being social with others allows you to integrate yourself as an important member of the community and volunteering in conservation is a good entryway for getting a job in the sector.

There are lots of different ways you could give your time to help us in our mission to protect amphibians and reptiles! Froglife has multiple volunteering opportunities across the country with different projects needing help. We aim to make volunteering with us as fun and rewarding as possible, so that you get as much out of it as the wildlife you are helping.

We at Froglife express endless gratitude to their volunteers, share success stories, and highlight the diverse ways in which volunteers make a difference. Froglife is extremely proud of all their volunteers and the work that they’ve achieved.

Find more information about volunteering with us here.

A special award for a special Toad Patroller

October 19, 2023 by Admin

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.

Projects

Isabella Bromfield:

Rose Williams:

Mariam Turay:

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