Joining the Toad Patrols of Britain My latest Green column goes patrolling for toads in Britain. Toads are mostly terrestrial creatures but when they mature at the age of about three they return in early spring to the body of water in which they were born to spawn. During the rest of the year they sometimes range many kilometers away from those ponds and rivers, and so in densely populated Britain coming back home, as it were, often requires crossing a busy road. Small volunteer groups have sprung up to help the toads from being squashed. One such group has been patrolling the Henley-Marlow road west of London since the 1980s. Thanks to their habits, toads are perfect for conservation volunteers. They cross roads in the same places at the same time every year, making a rescue effort easier to plan. On the nights when the toads surge from the woods to cross the road on their way to their spawning grounds, about 25 volunteers meet at dusk to help them get there safely. In the 1980s, small tunnels were installed under the road, but the toads seem to have spurned them. Now the group puts up a 200-meter-long plastic barrier on the woodland side of the road and collects the toads trapped by it in buckets. They then carry the creatures across the road to the edge of a large pond on the grounds of the Henley Business School. The scientists I spoke with said this was more than a feel-good exercise. The toad patrols - there are about 100 of them in Britain - are rescuing a substantial proportion of the toad population from vehicular death. Participants said that being on toad patrol was a grassroots conservation exercise that was much more satisfying than giving money to a large environmental group. They can see the payoff immediately in the numbers of toads they have saved. No cash or special qualifications are required. John Sumpter, who helps organize the Henley group, said the patrol members only see each other on the road at dusk and would have difficulty recognizing their fellow patrol members if they met them in the supermarket. Here is a question for readers: Are there other examples of grassroots conservation that you would like to share with us?