Here at Leighton Moss we can definitely see that winter is on its way. And if we are starting to feel the cold, our garden wildlife most certainly is!
Outside spaces have been getting smaller and smaller and fewer and fewer in order to make way for our homes…but what about wildlife? Our birds, animals and creepy crawlies all need a home too. They need somewhere to live together, somewhere to shelter from the weather, and somewhere to eat and drink, just like we do. As winter starts to settle in, many of them will be on the lookout for food and cosy places to keep warm from the cold weather. And we can help!
We can work together this autumn and winter to provide one big team for nature. Whether you have a big garden, a small garden, or no garden at all, the RSPB’s personal plan for nature can help you to give nature a home. Simply type in your postcode, select the size of your garden, the number of people taking part and how much time you want to spend on your activities, and we’ll suggest six ways in which you can help out your wildlife all year round.
Our garden here at Leighton Moss is dedicated to providing a home for nature. Photograph by Alice Hadley.
In autumn and winter our frogs, toads and newts are in particular need of our help. In the spring and summer months they live in ponds and love to keep moist in cool damp places around pond edges. But at the end of the summer they venture away from their ponds and look for a new winter home. Their winter home must be dark, cool, damp and a little way underground so that they can stay well hidden from predators and hibernate safely.
Our froggy friends are on the look out for a winter home...can you help them? Photograph by Mike Malpass.
So how can we help? Quite simply, we can give them a helping hand by building a frog and toad abode!
First we need to make sure we wrap up nice and warm for the cool weather, and that we have all the tools and materials needed to create our amphibians a home. To build a home for frogs, newts and toads we need a spade, old bricks or stones, and logs, twigs and branches. Now we are ready to get creating.
First, we take our spade and dig a hole around 30-45cm deep in a cool and shady place. Put the soil from the hole in a pile on the side for later. Then, we take our large stones or bricks and place them into the hole in a higgledy piggledy fashion: the stones will make the home secure so that our amphibian friends won’t get crushed! Now, we are ready to add our logs, twigs and branches, building the abode up to above ground level. Once you have a structure with lots of tunnels and cavities, you can add some soil to the back of the home, leaving a nice, open and welcoming front entrance for your frogs, newts and toads. You can even sow wild flower mix on top of the abode to create a camouflage effect.
Toads just love to hide out in homes full of tunnels and cavities...find a torch and watch out for them entering their new home by night! Photograph by David Mower.
And just like that, you have given nature a home!
If you don’t have time to create a amphibian home yourself, why not treat yourself and your froggy friends to a frogilo? Here at Leighton Moss, we have one in our garden, and our frogs, newts and toads just love to shelter there! The frogilo is available at our Leighton Moss shop and online.
The ready made frogilo is just perfect for welcoming our amphibian friends. Photograph by Alice Hadley.
From more detailed step-by-step instructions on how to build a frog and toad abode, please visit our webpage here. For more information on how to sign up for a free personalised plan for nature, please visit our webpage here.