MY EXPERIENCE AS A TOAD PATROLLER

Generally speaking, I'm hands-off when it comes to wildlife. The risk of doing more harm than good and the legacy we have of interfering whilst guided by misunderstandings of the natural world haunt me, so I find indirect ways to protect and regenerate nature.

This year, though, I put those views aside to become a lollipop lady for toads.

Toads migrate every year, back to the pond they were born in. Inconveniently, we've built roads across many of these migration paths, meaning many never make it back to breed.

Toads aren't having a great time. In fact, none of our amphibians are. Toad numbers are decreasing (68% over the past 30 years), pond numbers are decreasing, and pond biodiversity is decreasing. The least we can do is give them a hand crossing the road.

Toads in spawn. You can see the spawn wrapped around the stick.

Our patch is beautiful. A quiet country lane with fields and woodland to either side, the pond resplendent in the centre of the field on the far side. As we set off in the dusk, empty buckets swinging from our hands, tawny owls call out to each other.

Despite my aversion to interfering with wildlife, I love toad patrol.

There's something special about being out in the countryside in the dark - something that I don't ordinarily feel safe enough to do.

Last night, three of us rescued 104 toads, 16 frogs, and four newts between us. The whole experience is incredibly wholesome - gently lifting the squeaking toads into our buckets before putting them down in the field of their pond.

Many of the females, who are larger, are carrying males on their back and we have to pick them up together, as a toad stack. They're not mating - toads don't have penises; they fertilise the female's eggs as she lays her spawn, and they're not even at the pond yet. They're picking their partner and cadging a lift.

If you can spare a couple of hours of an evening for a few weeks a year, find out about signing up with Froglife. You can be flexible with the time you volunteer, and it's a great way to meet new people and get outdoors.

A toad's warts aren't as obvious as you may think

To help you decide if toad patrolling is right for you, here's some information based on my own experience:

• I'm not available every night, but more volunteers means more cover for the nights people aren't free

• All you need is a high-vis jacket, a bucket, and a light (preferably a head torch)

• Picking up the toads is easy, and a fellow patroller suggested clean marigolds as a glove solution (toads have sensitive skin, so no hand sanitiser)

• The patrol is usually about an hour, sometimes two if it's a busy night

• Safety is paramount and always prioritised