toaddetour.com

When to Come: The toads only come out when it’s warm enough to suit them, usually above 50 degrees.  If the temperature is below 50 degrees, call Lisa and/or one of the phone people.  If there’s little chance of any toads emerging, we won’t set up the barricades.  If it’s warmer than 50 degrees, please come help if you can, even if you didn’t sign up.  If you can’t make a shift you signed up for, it’s helpful for us if you can let us know in advance, however short the notice.  You can e-mail or call Lisa, or, in case of very late notice, call the phone person for that night.

Come prepared with:

• These instructions.
• Flashlight and reflective clothing if you have any. A clip on blinker used by bikers can be used instead of or in addition to reflective clothing.  We do have reflective vests for the six people at the barricades.
• Rain gear if there’s a chance of precipitation.  Rain pants are a good idea if you have them.
• A cell phone if you have one.
• A bucket or pail for moving lots of toads if you have one.
• Water and snacks if you want them.
• Camera or video camera (kids can enter pix in our photo contest)
• If you have children, bring hand sanitizer.

There is a porta-pottie near the barn.

Where to Go:

Park at cornor of Hagys Mill and Port Royal.

Walk about 100 yards down hill to barn behind farmhouse on right hand side of the road.  Entrance to barn is on left.  Key to the barn is under rock to right of barn door.  Inside on table find sign-in sheets and release forms.  Please fill out both.  Wait until at least three volunteers have arrived, or until 7:15 whichever happens first.  Let phone person know how many people you have, before leaving barn and give her your phone numbers.  Exchange names and cell phone numbers with the other volunteers so you can stay in touch while at the barricades or while patroling.  Decide who will be posted where.  There will be a map of the barricade locations in the barn as well as the number for a phone person to call if a large migration occurs.  Take a copy of the map with you to find the barricades.  The barricades are stored under tarps at the locations where you will set them up.

The barricade locations are:

• Port Royal and Ridge Avenue
• Eva and Shawmont Street
• Hagys Mill and Campanile Street

Jobs for everyone:

If you have less than three people, don’t set up the barricades until more, if any, volunteers arrive. Call the phone person and ask her to try to get more volunteers. When there aren’t enough people to set up the barricades, volunteers will patrol the roads around the reservoir to look for toads while they wait for back-up to arrive. If more people come, the phone person will call you. If you’re patrolling, please move the toads off the road to the reservoir side clear of the wall whenever possible.

If there are three volunteers, each person will be posted at a barricade for the two hours. It’s a lonely job, but think of the toads you are saving by preventing cars from coming through.

If there are four to six volunteers have at least one person at each barricade and switch off with the others who will be toad counters. If you have less than six people call the phone person and she will try to solicit more volunteers to come out. Designate at least one person to be a toad counter.

Toad Counters: Toad counters will patrol the detoured area, counting toads (and other wildlife). Take the tally sheets on clip boards found in the bins at each barricade location. Keep separate tallies of toads and frogs, dead and living. Toads have warts, frogs are smooth with stripes. Counters can also move toads off the road since there will be some local traffic coming through the barricades. Place them on the reservoir side of the road clear of the wall when possible. Since being a toad counter is the job everyone enjoys, when there are enough volunteers, it’s good to rotate jobs and give everyone a chance to do it.

If there are a lot of volunteers, posting two people at each barricade is best. The other people can all be toad counters.

SETTING UP BARRICADES

Barricades will be found under tarps at each barricade location.  Some of the barricades are quite heavy and others are more portable.  Please use whatever combination you feel capable of lifting to block off the whole road and post the Road Closed sign where it’s clearly visible.  Volunteers at the Hagys Mill and Campanile barricade  can also post cones with detour arrow signs to direct traffic to Ridge Avenue.  Post the first cone at Campanile and Belfry pointing right and another at Belfry and Cathedral pointing left.  Alternatively, you can give drivers verbal instructions when they come to the barricade and show them on the map you will have at the barricade location, but it isn’t a far walk to carry cones to the above locations if you have enough people to help.

IMPORTANT: A volunteer must always be present at the barricades  to move them for drivers who will need to be let through.  These include people who live on Port Royal Street or Cathedral Village, people going to or leaving the ball field on Port Royal near Hagys Mill, church-goers leaving the Worship Center on Eva Street, and people taking wildlife to the wildlife center on Port Royal Street.  When people ask to be let through, please do so in a polite fashion, no matter how they speak to you, and move the barricades wide so they can pass through without difficulty.  Be especially mindful of this with elderly people who may have difficulty seeing in the dark.

When people ask about the detour, please be polite and give them a brochure about the toad project.  Brochures will be stored in plastic bins with the barricades.  There are always going to be a few people who give you a hard time.  Ignore rude comments and always stay positive.  The future of the detour and the fate of the wildlife protected by it, which also includes frogs, turtles, and many small mammals, all depend on our maintaining good relations with the community.  Be assured, many more people support the detour than oppose it.  We have received an overwhelmingly positive response on both a local and national level.  Wildlife are increasingly threatened by the encroachment of human development into their natural habitat.  By helping with this detour, you’re creating awareness of the need to accommodate wildlife when planning new building projects, as well as find ways to help animals get across existing roads.    

WHEN THE TOADS ARE OUT

If a major migration occurs, a voluteer needs to call the phone person designated for that night right away.  Here is the schedule for:

Phone people:

• Monday – Char
• Tuesday – Char
• Wednesday – Katay
• Thursday – Deanna
• Friday – Deanna
• Saturday - Katay
• Sunday – Katay
• Char – 610-247-0572
• Deanna – 619-416-8510
• Katay- 267-303-9973, 215-726-1670

If you can’t get through to one caller, try the others.  The phone person will call for more volunteers to help, as well as the press. 

If someone from the press arrives, please direct them to Lisa, if she’s available.  Of course you can talk to them yourselves as well.  

How do you know if there’s a major migration?

When toads are out in large numbers, you’ll probably see many crossing at all times.  This is most likely to happen in the rain, especially in a strong downpour, though the toads are always surprising us.  If you see a small number of toads crossing, but at steady intervals, you can also call the phone person.  The number may suddenly increase if a downpour occurs, so we may call volunteers to come out then as well.   Give the phone person an idea of how many you’re seeing.

End of a Shift

Volunteers will decide when they want to leave.  We’re hoping people will stay at least until 9pm, if possible.  If a lot of toads are out, and people can stay later, great!  The longer the barricades are up, the more toad lives will be spared. 

Move the barricades, signs and bins back to the side of the road where you found them and cover well with a tarp, making sure tarp is secured and won’t blow away.  Take tally sheets back to the barn.  Turn off the barn lights and lock the door.  Put key back under rock.  Have kids use hand sanitizer.  At the end of the night, have one volunteer call Lisa and leave a message as to how the night went, how much toad activity you saw, and, when possible, a tally of toads and frogs.  We also encourage you to write a blog on the website and post any pictures you took along with your blog.  Lots of people are interested in the toads of Roxborough and are following the story of their migration.

Finally:

On behalf of the toads, THANK YOU.  Spread the word and help us get more volunteers.  The more people we have to help, the more often we can set up the barricades and save the most toads.  Also, the more people show up, the more people will be able to do the fun job of counting and carrying toads to safety.