Froglife

Local community members explain why they want to improve their local green space with a pond.

Froglife stands out for its work with people that are less able to access nature. It includes their work with elderly people experiencing dementia and previously with prisoners to help them create habitats for amphibians within prison grounds. Its community work targets urban settings and places where nature conservation may have been previously limited. This has included projects such as Coalface to Wildspace in the Midlands, which has a focus on habitat restoration and community engagement projects that convert neglected urban, post-industrial, and former colliery sites into vibrant spaces for reptiles, amphibians, and people.

Another example is Toads on Roads, a community-led action project that has helped save 156,227 toads in 2025, while empowering people to take collective action in their own communities. In the blog below, Jenny Tse-Leon, Head of Conservation and Impact at Froglife, shares more about how the project works and the impact it is having.

Toads on Roads: Community-led action that goes beyond conservation

At first glance, Toads on Roads project might look like a straightforward conservation effort: volunteers helping toads safely across roads during their annual migration. But this is not just about saving amphibians – it is about people, place, participation and the power of community-led action to deliver wide-ranging social and environmental impact.

On relatively mild (over 5ºC), damp evenings, early in the year thousands of toads emerge from gardens, woodlands and fields to journey to their ancestral breeding ponds. These migrations follow the same routes year after year. Yet modern infrastructure – particularly roads – has turned these journeys into deadly obstacle courses. Without intervention, local populations can decline rapidly and even go extinct, contributing to a wider national decrease - estimated at 41% over 40 years in research published by Froglife in 2025.

What makes Toads on Roads remarkable is how local people have responded. Across the UK and beyond, communities witnessing this seasonal loss have stepped in. Armed with torches, buckets and high-visibility jackets, volunteer “Toad Patrols” head out at night to help amphibians cross safely. What began as small, grassroots efforts have grown into a coordinated national project supported by Froglife, with hundreds of patrols and thousands of volunteers contributing to a shared mission.

In 2025 alone, a record-breaking 156,227 toads were helped across roads by 280 patrols. What truly sets this project apart is its breadth of impact.

Toads walking during breeding season - Credit: Andrew Wood

Community power and place-based action

Toads on Roads is inherently place-based. Each patrol is rooted in its local environment, responding to specific crossing points and engaging people who live nearby. Volunteers are not just participants – they are leaders, organisers and advocates for change in their communities.

This local ownership builds resilience and agency. People are empowered to act, to protect the nature on their doorstep, and to influence local decision-making. The data collected by patrols is made publicly accessible on the NBN Atlas, feeds into national research and informs planners and policymakers, demonstrating how community knowledge can shape wider systems. In 2022, Hampshire Biodiversity Information Centre used the data to designate ponds as a ‘Site of importance for Nature Conservation’ in Hampshire, due to their toad population.

For organisations working across social justice, environmental action or community development, this model offers a powerful example: meaningful change often starts with enabling local people to act where they are.

Accessibility and shared purpose

A strength of the project is its accessibility. It requires no specialist background – just willingness, care and a bit of time. This makes it an inclusive entry point for people from different backgrounds, including those who may not traditionally engage with conservation.

Patrols bring together neighbours who might otherwise never meet, creating shared purpose and strengthening community ties. In an increasingly fragmented world, these moments of collective action matter.

The benefits extend far beyond conservation. Many volunteers describe profound impacts on their mental health and wellbeing – and volunteers have even coined the term ‘Toad Therapy’. Children also often join patrols where it is safe to, with parents or carers, experiencing wildlife up close in a way that is both exciting and memorable. These early encounters foster curiosity, empathy and a lifelong connection to nature. It demonstrates that they can make a difference, nurturing confidence and a sense of responsibility.

A model for cross-sector impact

Toads on Roads offers a compelling example of how a single project can cut across multiple strategic priorities:

• Environment: protecting species and preventing local extinctions
• Communities: empowering local people to lead and sustain action
• Accessibility: anyone can take part, with added benefits to wellbeing through nature connection
• Place-based work: responding to local needs with local solutions

However, despite its success, Toads on Roads highlights a persistent challenge: funding long-term projects. Continued investment is essential to maintain and grow the network, support volunteers and ensure that both people and wildlife continue to benefit.

As we face intersecting environmental and social challenges, projects like Toads on Roads show what is possible when communities are supported to act. They remind us that small, local interventions can scale into national movements - creating impact that is richer, more resilient and more transformative.

Because sometimes, helping a toad cross a road is about much more than saving a single life - it’s about building stronger, happier, more connected communities along the way.

How to get involved

If you would like to support the project you can find your local toad patrol and offer to volunteer here or donate to the project here.