Toads on the roads
THOUSANDS of toads crawling across the road to reach breeding ponds are to be given a helping hand by an army of lollipop-style volunteers.Each year the toads risk life and limb to negotiate Hall Road and the busy Old Yarmouth Road near Lound Lakes.
THOUSANDS of toads crawling across the road to reach breeding ponds are to be given a helping hand by an army of lollipop-style volunteers.
Each year the toads risk life and limb to negotiate Hall Road and the busy Old Yarmouth Road near Lound Lakes.
The Broads Authority and Essex and Suffolk Water have stepped in to coordinate the toad patrol as part of a national campaign to help save the common toad from disappearing in the region.
Over the coming weeks more than a thousand volunteers will be helping toads across the UK's roads in an effort to save the amphibian from further decline.
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Locally, the Friends of Lound Lakes community group will be escorting toads over Hall Road as part of the Toads on Roads campaign, run by the national wildlife charity Amphibian and Reptile Conservation.
Lound Lakes' conservation and hydrology officer Holly Berwick said: “Over the last five years our toad patrol has rescued thousands of toads.
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“It's very rewarding to know we're helping the plight of toads in the area and it is a nice way to meet other people from the local community.
“We're eager to get more people volunteering with the Friends of Lound Lakes and although it is a little late to join this year's Toad Watch, we would love to hear from local people who have some spare time on Saturday or Thursday mornings and don't mind getting their hands dirty.”
Old Yarmouth Road is seen as too dangerous to patrol so toad warning signs have been put up to alert drivers to keep a look out.
As well as the dangers of being run over toads are also at risk of falling into drains, especially where there are high kerbs.
Essex and Suffolk Water work in partnership with the Broads Authority to manage Lound Lakes for the benefit of wildlife.
Anyone interested in joining next year's Toad Patrol should contact Holly Berwick on 07795 460 866.
