Here at Cliverton, all of the team are huge animal lovers and like to get involved with charitable work, especially those that benefit animals and wildlife in some way.  As we are part of the Benefact Group, a group of financial services that donates all available profits to charity and good causes, we are always on the look out for local causes that could benefit from either our time or fundraising.

Jo, who works in our Kennels & Cattery team, is our volunteering & fundraising superstar! She has put together a blog on her most recent volunteering adventure with FrogLife.

''If you are driving along dark town and country roads from February through to April, you may well come across small bands of people, armed with buckets and torches, scanning the verges as you pass. In Norfolk, these people are part of the Toad Patrol. These are a group of volunteers who give up their free time to assist these little creatures to and from their breeding ponds during the breeding season.''

''In Norfolk, the groups are registered under the umbrella of Toadwatch with 20 patrols out and about. The first patrol was set up in Bowthorpe and Little Melton in 2004.  Sadly, this patrol is no longer in operation due to the ponds being destroyed by housing developments.  As whole toad populations use one specific breeding pond, their numbers can quickly be impacted. They are gradually being pushed back from towns and villages as more developments destroy their habitat and the building of more roads presents more dangers to the travelling toads.''

''Every year, 20 tonnes of toads are killed on Britain’s roads. The toad patrollers are there to assist their journey, whether they are arriving at the ponds or leaving.  The arriving toads are gathered into buckets and taken to their destination, safe and  sound.  Those leaving are helped back to the verges so they can continue their long journey home. All the toads are counted and statistics are gathered as to how many males and females are coming and going. The population is mainly male numbering up to 80%. The toads prefer warm, wet evenings and the numbers increase immensely when the weather conditions are favorable. This means that large numbers of toads are travelling in short periods of time, making them extremely vulnerable to being killed crossing the roads.''

''When the young toads, only 15mm long, leave their breeding pond, they set off to find a home, travelling several miles. Here, they will spend the next four years before heading back to the pond they were born in. This obviously presents huge risk to the toads. As well as their natural predators like hedgehogs, herons and birds of prey, they have the added dangers of roads to cross. Many end up killed or maimed as they try to navigate an increasingly hostile landscape.''  

''Lets face it, toads get a bad press. They are widely considered slimey and scary. They are neither of those things but are instead invaluable to the environment.  Pond health can be judged by the population of amphibians, making them great indicators of changing conditions. Every gardener knows the benefit of having a toad in the garden, eating slugs, snails, spiders and aphids. Without our help, large groups of the same population could be wiped out over a period of just a few days.  They are quite beautiful if you take the time to really look at them with their spots and stripes and amber eyes…why not introduce yourself to your local patrol and find out for yourself?''

More information can be found at www.toadwatch.org and www.froglife.org

 Froglife is a registered charity and provides insurance for the Toad Patrols for free, allowing them to safely help the toads. They fundraise through donations to their Tuppence A Toad Appeal.  Why not have a look at their fun and informative website and help to protect a much misunderstood and vital part of our natural world.