Written by Rose Williams, London Blue Chain Trainee
After a whirlwind year as a trainee at Froglife on the busy London Blue Chain project, I’ve feel like I’ve gained a whole host of experience, from holding the attention of young people in sessions to how to manage invasive pond plants! It’s now time for my next career step, but before I head on to the next adventure, I wanted to share the top 5 things I learned as a Froglife trainee!
1. Reptiles and amphibians are the best species
You’d expect me to say this after a year working for Froglife wouldn’t you… but it’s true! Reptiles and amphibians are stunningly beautiful species, with fascinating lives, and a vital part of the ecosystem. They’re also accessible: found all around south east London and need no specialist equipment to look at. Having worked with them for a year, there’s still nothing that brightens my day more than a frog hopping across my path!
2. To see more species, get involved in local parks and green spaces
I occasionally see the fancy lads – like adders and great crested newts – at nature reserves. But I see the most frogs, toads and newts from volunteering in south east London parks and green spaces. Regular seasonal jobs like cutting back bramble, nettle and bracken often reveal a lurking amphibian. Spend a few hours with your local “Friends of” group and see what you find. And of course you can always volunteer with us on the Blue Chain!
3. Flat pond shelves – sometimes higher than you think!
I’ve hand dug about 20 ponds now and one of my top findings (other than measure twice, cut once) is to have nice big flat pond shelves near the top. Marginal plants tend to want to be soggy, but not submerged, and growing tadpoles love sunny, shallow areas. So don’t build your shelf too far down and give your growing amphibians somewhere to sunbathe. That said, if it’s not quite the right height, just prop your plants up with old rubble!
4. Be proud to be an amateur
I sometimes feel like a latecomer as my interest with nature started in my early 30s. Safe to say it’s become more of an obsession since then, but whatever stage you’re at, be proud to call yourself “nature curious”. For experts in a field, extraordinary things become everyday and unremarkable. The joy of being an amateur is that everything new is a special and memorable event. The acts of doing, seeing and learning new things are excellent for our brains and mental health (as is hanging around ‘watery nature’ including, you guessed it, ponds).
5. Photograph and report what you see
Not only are our species incredibly photogenic, they often let you get a close enough view to get good shots with a phone camera. I follow a “ten second rule” before I back away and leave them be, (also remember never to handle animals unnecessarily for photos or otherwise, and never approach adders).
You can also do your bit to help conserve reptiles and amphibians by submitting your sightings and photos to the Dragon Finder app. This valuable citizen science data is verified and made publicly available by NBN – you can see it for yourself here.
If you want to find out more about the London Blue Chain project, head to the project web page and sign up to the newsletter by sending an email to londonbluechain@froglife.org
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.
