Projects

One year of Boston and Beyond

September 1, 2026 by Admin

Written by Abby Simpson-Tunnard, Trainee

From restoring ponds to delivering educational and creative sessions in classrooms, the first 12 months of Neighbourhood Wildlife Corridor: Boston and Beyond has laid strong foundations for a more connected and biodiverse landscape in and around Boston. One year in, it’s the perfect time to celebrate what’s been achieved and share the next steps in the Boston and Beyond project.

Habitat work in Boston

The Boston and Beyond project began by building relationships with local community groups, schools, and residents to identify where habitat interventions would have the greatest impact. Establishing these partnerships ensured that habitat creation was informed by local knowledge and shaped through community involvement.

Habitat works are a key element of this project, helping to piece-by-piece develop a functional wildlife corridor throughout Boston. Habitats created include new ponds, pond restorations in addition to hibernacula, log piles, and rockeries. Creating these habitats early in the project timeline provided the longest possible period to monitor how habitats develop and evaluate how effectively these new or restored spaces support biodiversity.

Since the project has begun, 42 habitat interventions have taken shape across Boston, each one contributing to the developing wildlife corridor. A particular success story has emerged from the two restored ponds at Jennys Wood, which were restored in autumn of 2025. By spring, one pond found itself home to frogspawn and tadpoles, while juvenile smooth newts were found in the other during the Froglife Festival pond dipping event in June.

Working with the people of Boston.

The involvement of the Boston community is a core aim of the Boston and Beyond project. Community events, such as the Celebrate Boston event at Boston Stump can illustrate how beneficial the participation of local people is to the project. Community involvement has been central to the success of Boston and Beyond, with the participation of community groups, schools, and volunteers helping the development a lasting commitment to the stewardship for nature.

Working alongside these established community groups has highlighted the value of meaningful connections, with many participants returning to share stories of species sightings or the creation of wildlife-friendly features, such as mini ponds, in their own gardens. These experiences demonstrate the lasting impact that education and outreach can have in encouraging positive action for wildlife.

What’s next for the Boston and Beyond project?

The halfway mark of the project may have passed, but there are still lots of exiting things to come. Returning to habitats for surveying will help to quantify the impact that habitat works have on their surroundings. In addition, maintenance helps to ensure habitats remain in good condition for amphibians and reptiles during the times of year they are least likely to be disturbed.

Training sessions are one way of ensuring our habitats futures by equipping participants with the skills needed to act as stewards of the habitats created across Boston. Further creative workshops are also planned to create two speaking statues that will be installed at public habitat sites. These statues will celebrate the people and wildlife in Boston and be a lasting legacy.

Case Studies from our project: Coalface to Wildspace: Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire & Lothians

April 1, 2026 by Admin

Developing our Coalface to Wildspace project in Scotland has been an inspiring journey. Along the way, we’ve connected with some truly incredible organisations and individuals. Explore the case studies below to discover their stories.

Fernbrae Meadows Allotments

Fernbrae Meadows Allotments became involved in the Coalface to Wildspace project after an introduction from South Lanarkshire Council’s Landscape Services team. Froglife’s vision for what the site could become, an allotment that nurtures both people and wildlife, resonated strongly with members. The allotments already host bird and bat boxes, a small pond, and plans for further habitat features, but the project opened up a much bigger, more ambitious possibility: creating a true wildlife corridor linked with Fernbrae Meadows. With the support and enthusiasm of the Park Rangers, whose deep knowledge of the local environment has long inspired the community, the committee quickly recognised the transformative potential of the work. They helped drive the 2025 consultation by mobilising members to complete Froglife’s survey, showcasing both the biodiversity already present and the strength of community commitment to enhancing it.

The proposed developments through Coalface to Wildspace would have a profound impact on the allotments and the wider community. Additional ponds would support amphibians, bringing natural pest control to the resident allotment slugs, and create a richer, more resilient ecosystem that local people could take pride in. The partnership with Froglife and the Park Rangers would also open the door to educational events, family activities, and opportunities for local schools to engage with nature on their doorstep. The committee hopes this marks the beginning of a long-term collaboration, positioning Fernbrae Meadows Allotments as a leading example of how urban growing spaces can champion biodiversity while strengthening community connections.

Volunteer Story

This volunteer’s journey with the Coalface to Wildspace project began unexpectedly when Froglife were running a consultation workshop at their local LGBTQ+ social group run by MYPAS (Midlothian Young Peoples Advice Service) in Dalkeith. Already passionate about amphibian conservation, they approached the Project Manager to ask about upcoming volunteering opportunities. That conversation sparked a deep and ongoing involvement in the project’s development phase across the Lothians, South Lanarkshire and Ayrshire. They have long believed that community‑based conservation is one of the most effective ways to protect wildlife: when people care about the land around them, they help create landscapes that are more sustainable and resilient. Coalface to Wildspace’s focus on helping communities rediscover and re‑imagine forgotten pockets of land resonated strongly with their belief that nurturing local stewardship is key to long‑term environmental change.

In 2025, they played a central role in the project’s community engagement and research activities. Their work involved identifying organisations interested in transforming neglected spaces into thriving amphibian habitats and reaching out to explore potential partnerships. Speaking with such a wide range of inspiring groups was a highlight of the experience with one of those connections leading to the volunteer’s current employment. Their motivation was also deeply personal: near their home, they have watched once‑natural areas become stripped bare by urbanisation. The possibility that Coalface to Wildspace could help bring wildlife back to these places, allowing plants, fungi, amphibians and other species to flourish alongside people felt profoundly important. Volunteering with Froglife has also had a significant impact on their own development. The project contributed to their Saltire Summit Award for over 500 hours of volunteering, helped them secure a role at One Dalkeith, and led to a nomination for SCVO’s Volunteer of the Year. They credit the project with opening doors, building confidence, and giving them the chance to contribute to a future where communities and wildlife thrive together.

Watch this space for further updates on our Coalface to Wildspace project in Scotland.

Restarting a Toad Patrol

March 1, 2026 by Admin

Written by Andrew Smart, Head of Science & Research

At a site in Cornwall, Froglife’s Head of Science and Research, Andrew Smart, has been rescuing toads on and off for 35 years. This year at his nearby crossing, the toads started moving on the last day of January.

When we first moved back to Cornwall, I came across the toad pond and migration by chance one evening and I’ve been doing my best when I could since then. It’s been a family show for many years with four of us taking turns to collect toads and move them towards their breeding pond. For a while we had a lot of help from students at Cornwall College, Newquay, which was great. For various reasons the patrol ‘hit a bump’ and stopped for a few years. This year we’ve registered the patrol officially with Froglife and are welcoming people from the surrounding area who want to help out and learn about toads. Hopefully next year we’ll have enough interest to set up a rota and share the load!

It’s quite a challenge running a patrol where there aren’t many toads, we move around 500 to 600 toads a year but have quite high mortality (around 100 to 150 every year). The site isn’t a ‘crossing’ but two country lanes that run downhill towards the breeding pond, so the males sit along the lanes waiting for females who walk down towards the pond between the Cornish hedges. The nature of the migration means that a single car at the wrong time can kill 20 toads at once! Unfortunately, the lanes appear on ‘satnavs’ as a cut-through that might save maybe a minute on a journey.

Hopefully next year with more patrollers and some signs we can start to reduce the numbers of toads killed. It’s odd to have people coming again after a year of working at the site on my own- they are quite surprised when I talk to the toads and palmate newts!

When we first started moving toads the migration was mid-February but now it starts at the end of January /beginning of February so we have to be watching for a while in case they start even earlier due to the warming climate.

I hope that anyone who is interested can take a look at the Toads on Roads page on the Froglife website Find your nearest toad crossing and check to see if there are any toad crossings near them where a patrol is inactive or where there is no information. It’s a great thing to do to restart a patrol and really make a difference to the lives of our common toads.

Help Save Toads on Our Roads

January 28, 2026 by Admin

Every spring, thousands of common toads risk their lives crossing roads to reach their breeding ponds. Many never make it. Toads on Roads is Froglife’s long-running conservation project that matches volunteers with their local Patrols, gives advice and support, provides insurance for registered patrollers, manages the database of toad crossing sites and administrates the data coming back to us from these patrols. Toads on Roads is a crucial part of what we do, however, it is one of our most under-funded projects. Your donation helps keep this vital project running, saving local populations, one tiny life at a time.

Donate now and help save toads on our roads

WHEN DONATING, PLEASE STATE IN YOUR ‘ORDER NOTES’ ON THE CHECKOUT SCREEN THAT IT IS FOR THE TOADS ON ROADS PROJECT

Why Toads on Roads Matters

Road mortality is one of the biggest threats facing common toads. Toads return to the same breeding ponds year after year, often crossing busy roads that didn’t exist when their migration routes were first established.

Toads on Roads brings together dedicated volunteers and communities to:

Safely help toads (and other amphibians) cross roads during peak migration
Monitor populations and identify long-term trends
Reduce wildlife road deaths through practical, targeted action

How Your Donation Makes an Impact

Your donation helps fund the core activities that keep Toads on Roads running year after year. This essential support allows Froglife to coordinate, manage and grow the project so volunteers can focus on saving toads on the ground.

Your donation will help fund:

Volunteer coordination and support, including responding to enquiries, registering sites and providing guidance
Project administration and promotion, ensuring Toads on Roads sites are properly managed, recorded and supported. And raising awareness amongst the general public of the plight of toads and the work that is being done to protect them.
Data management and reporting, helping us track toad populations and identify where action is most needed Share the data on the National Biodiversity Network (NBN) Atlas and with other research partners to ensure the decision makers and scientists have the best information at their disposal.
Training resources and communications, keeping volunteers informed, safe and supported throughout the breeding season

By funding these core activities, you are supporting thousands of volunteer hours that help protect toads at key road crossing points across the UK.

Common toad (bufo bufo). Credit Chris Pook

Make a Difference This Breeding Season

By donating through this page, you are directly supporting the Toads on Roads project and helping Froglife protect one of the UK’s most iconic amphibians.

Together, we can ensure toads reach their breeding ponds safely, now and for generations to come.

Donate now and help save toads on our roads

WHEN DONATING, PLEASE STATE IN YOUR ‘ORDER NOTES’ ON THE CHECKOUT SCREEN THAT IT IS FOR THE TOADS ON ROADS PROJECT.

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.