Froglife

Leaping forward for reptiles and amphibians

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Neighbourhood Wildlife Corridor Open Day

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Join Froglife’s Discovering Dewponds Project to discover more about the amphibians and reptiles of Brighton and their habitats!

Join us in Hollingdean Park on Saturday 12th October 2024 to explore the three ‘Neighbourhood Wildlife Corridors’ created by Froglife alongside local residents, community groups, schools and more! Through this project, a series of wildlife ponds and terrestrial habitats have been created and restored across Hollingdean and Hollingbury, Moulsecoomb and Bevendean and Coldean.

What’s on?

  • Froglife Information Stall – learn more about the local amphibian and reptile species and their habitats, including ponds, and find-out more about the Neighbourhood Wildlife Corridor project.
  • Make your own mini-habitat – take-away a mini-pond, bug-hotel or wildflower meadow kit.
  • Growing Hollingdean Information Table – Find out about Hollingdean’s 240+ fruit and nut trees.
  • Wildlife Corridor Walk – follow the trail to discover the hidden ponds, hibernacula, meadows and more of Hollingbury and Hollingdean!
  • Wildlife Art Trail – take a peek at a series of pond-themed artworks created by local schools!
  • Pond Dipping (1pm – 1:30pm) and Bug Hunt (3pm – 3:30pm) Activities

Where: Hollingdean Park, Lynchet Close, Hollingdean, Brighton, BN1 7EY. Find us next to the skatepark (what3words: plank.soup.mops)

The event runs from 10am – 4pm and is free to attend with no sign-up required. All ages welcome. We look forward to seeing you there!

 

Submitting your sightings is now quicker and easier

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Froglife’s new and improved Dragon Finder app is here.  The app helps you to identify amphibians and reptiles, find out more about individual species and submit a record of your sighting.  Collecting records is a vital first step in wildlife conservation.  This data provides the evidence needed to protect important sites and alert us to population declines.  

Dragon Finder app users will find all the great features of the original version but now with a simpler process for submitting your records, many technical improvements and compatibility with recent models of mobile phones.  Existing users will simply be asked to update the app the next time they open it.

Froglife submit all the records collected through the Dragon Finder app to the National Biodiversity Network (NBN) to be shared publicly on the NBN Atlas.  Many of the improvements that we’ve made to the app and supporting database mean that the records are now in better shape to be submitted to this platform and local biodiversity record centres.  In short this means that the records you submit are now even more valuable.

The Dragon Finder App was first launched in 2014 and is funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Amphibians and reptiles are the most threatened species globally and also the least recorded.  For successful conservation of these fascinating creatures we need to understand their national distribution and population trends. 

Froglife’s CEO, Kathy Wormald says “We are delighted to be launching this much needed new version of the app.  To support Froglife’s work conserving UK amphibians and reptiles we ask everyone to download the app and submit their sightings”.

Find out more

Christmas shopping? Raise some funds for Froglife

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Thinking of starting your Christmas shopping? If you have, then why not raise funds for Froglife at the same time by using Give as you Live?

Thousands of your favourite online stores will donate a percentage of whatever you spend online – all at no cost to you. Simply download the toolbar for desktops and the app for mobile devices to get you started. Both are easy to use so it’s a piece of (Christmas) cake to raise extra funds for us this festive season.

For other ways to support Froglife, click here.

Our finest ponds need people

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Volunteers from a local company helped contribute to the work of Froglife in looking after Orton Pits, highlighting the value of connecting people with wildlife.

Employees from BGL Group volunteered their time to monitor water quality and build new homes for wildlife at one of the UK’s most important pond sites.

Orton Pits, Peterborough, is owned by O&H and mangaged by the charity Froglife. This site is also part of the Freshwater Habitat Trust’s Flagship ponds project – one of 70 sites across the country that are home to our rarest pond plants and animals.  Froglife is working with the Freshwater Habitats Trust and local communities to enhance Flagship Ponds and their wildlife to have a safe future.  When companies like BGL join the team, it bodes well.

Without help from Froglife and local people, sites like those at Orton Pits will likely suffer the same fate as most other ponds: pollution, neglect or mismanagement, and the loss of the plants and animals that make them special.

Pete Case, Freshwater Habitat Trust’s Regional Officer, said: “Volunteers play an incredibly important role in helping to care for Flagship Pond sites. Everything from monitoring water quality to undertaking hands-on practical management work relies on their support, so having the enthusiastic staff from BGL to help us for the day was a real bonus. It was a pleasure to show the team around Orton Pits which is one of the best and most interesting freshwater sites in England, we are looking forward to working with them again in the future”.

Staff at BGL are encouraged to spend one work day a year volunteering in the local community.  Earlier this month, eight volunteers from BGL’s head office in Peterborough enjoyed building log piles to give shelter to the Great Crested Newts that the site is best known for.  The volunteers then spent the afternoon measuring pollution levels in some the site’s 320 ponds.  The water testing is vital for spotting pollution that could threaten the many other special plants and animals that have made Orton Pits their home.

Louise Powell, Senior Business Analyst at BGL, said “We were delighted to spend our volunteering day at Orton Pits – we were thrilled to see so many creatures and birds, including a few slow worms, a kingfisher and a deer. We came away with a real understanding of the value of the Reserve, what effects pollutants can have on our waterways and the importance in protecting these areas.  We look forward to helping again in the future.”

Laurence Jarvis, Head of Conservation at Froglife, said “We were very pleased with the work which staff from BGL carried out at Orton Pit. The wildlife homes will be valuable for a range of species including Great Crested Newts, Common Lizards and Adders. This volunteer input really contributes to the continued conservation of species and habitats on the reserve”.

Freshwater Habitats Trust’s Flagship Pond project is working with partners such as Froglife and local communities to protect 70 sites across England and Wales, with Heritage Lottery Fund support.

Froglife’s London Tails of Amphibian Discovery (T.O.A.D) project secures National Lottery investment

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Froglife, a wildlife conservation charity has received a confirmed grant of £38,800, made possible by National Lottery players, to develop its London T.O.A.D project, it was announced today. The grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) will enable Froglife to undertake a six month development phase. During these six months Froglife will be planning an extensive range of activities to benefit the UK’s beleaguered common toads.

In 2016 Froglife worked in partnership with the University of Zurich to analyse its 30+ year Toads on Roads database. The findings from this research concluded that the UK’s common toads have declined by 68% over the 30 year period. It is known that year-on-year mortality of toads crossing roads to reach their breeding sites does eventually lead to the extinction of the population. Froglife coordinates the toads on roads patrols, these are volunteers who go out on spring evenings and help toads across busy roads. The dedication from these volunteers is of enormous help to our toad populations. However, in cities such as London, where the volume of traffic is such that it is not feasible to patrol roads, alternative systems are essential.

Being a very pro-active organisation Froglife immediately put in place an action plan to help secure the future of our common toads. This London project forms part of the action plan. The project will be working on six large wildlife sites in London creating networks of habitats suitable for toads. It will also be visiting toad patrol sites to select sites to benefit from infrastructure such as wildlife tunnels. Froglife is currently monitoring numerous wildlife tunnels of different designs using 24 hour cameras, the early results are showing that wildlife tunnels are well-used and not only by the wildlife that they are designed for.

Froglife wants as many people as possible to get involved in its work and in order to encourage wide engagement in toad conservation Froglife will be delivering activities such as the creation of a Mapestry (tapestry reflecting the heritage items of London), T.O.A.D wildlife gardening workshops, T.O.A.D. Tails – an activity delivered in schools, Swimming with T.O.A.Ds – converting swimming pools into toad ponds and T.O.A.D. Shows, where a Froglife Pond Doctor will provide households with wildlife gardening tips.

Kathy Wormald, Froglife CEO, said: “We are very grateful to Heritage Lottery Fund for this grant. It will provide Froglife with an excellent opportunity to inspire local communities in London about their common toad populations and their intriguing lives, whilst also introducing people to the many local green spaces on our doorsteps that can be enjoyed by all. We’ll be hosting some exceptionally creative activities alongside much needed habitat creation and restoration work.”

Stuart Hobley, Head of HLF London, said: “Whilst the age-old question might concern chickens, we are delighted that National Lottery players are able to support Froglife in helping London’s toads cross the road. This project has the potential to celebrate the humble toad, their habitats, and the important role they play in our environment. The project will also allow volunteers a toad-ally exciting opportunity to learn and develop new skills. We look forward to seeing the final proposals in due course”.

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