On a chilly spring evening, Jennifer Hsu and other volunteers walked with flashlights and buckets along Port Royal Avenue to help transport some unsung residents: the toads and frogs that live along the Roxborough Reservoir. But as the sun disappeared on the poorly lit road, the group had to get a little creative to help the wandering critters.
"One of the more experienced volunteers gave me the idea to just sit and wait for motion. … We're good at tracking motion and things at the corner of our eye because that's how we survived," said Hsu, who found three of the 45 amphibians that were saved night. "But also to listen for the hops."
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Every year for nearly two decades, volunteers shut down a stretch of Port Royal Avenue between Hagy’s Mill Road and Eva Street and a section of Eva Street between Port Royal and Summit avenues two to three times a week from March to June for a project called Toad Detour. On wet, warm evenings between 7:30 and 9:30 p.m., a group will escort frogs and toads from the forest at the Schuylkill Center to their mating grounds in the reservoir — and then back again a few months later with their new babies.
The organizers decide when to close the roads using a predictor created by longtime volunteer Chris Hand that measures temperature and precipitation to determine ideal conditions. From there, volunteers, some first-timers and some old pros, set off in groups or pairs with safety vests and a tally sheet to count the number of amphibians they spotted that night. If necessary, they'll give the creatures a lift over to the other side in their hands or a bucket.
The most common crossers are American toads, although this year volunteers noticed a number of gray tree frogs. In past, they've also encountered pickerel frogs, green frogs and bullfrogs, according to Susan Slawinski, volunteer and community outreach manager at the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education. But since none of those are considered endangered species, she said the program is about establishing a safe space as remorse for creating the problem in the first place.
"It's important that we protect the population and just give them a chance," Slawinski said. "Usually, they can make it on their own, but this is a man-made issue that we've created. We've built a road on their migration path and the least we can do is make it safe for them on crossing nights."
Toad Detour was founded in 2008 by Lisa Levinson, who saw how frequently the toads were getting run over around the reservoir and was concerned. Eventually, the Schuylkill Center took over the program in 2012, with the help of volunteer shift supervisors. The neighborhood residents are more than familiar with the project, often stopping to ask how many were seen that night as they drive by. The project has saved 22,000 toads over 16 years, according to its website.
A group of volunteers walk down Port Royal Avenue during a crossing night.
The Schuylkill Center's Susan Slawinski holds an American toad during a crossing night.
Chris Hand created an 'emergency kit' that included tiny hats to put on the toads.
A passion project from Hand called Hats4Toads adds some entertainment to the night. Hand created "emergency kits" with tiny hats to put on the amphibians for a little bit of fun, and he uses a peppermint to distract them and capture a good photo.
Although the roads are blocked off, the volunteers let necessary traffic through, meaning there is still some last-minute rescues.
"It really feels good because sometimes you'll see a truck barreling down or a car, and … I sometimes run over to the toad and I pick it up and get it off the road before the truck gets there," said Ed Wickham, who's been volunteering since 2013. "And you're like, yes!"
For Hsu, Toad Detour is a nice way to get outside and add some physical activities into her days after spending a lot of time indoors as an occupational therapist. But she also does it to provide a small service for nature. When she's the one behind the wheel, she has started to drive more carefully — even stopping traffic to help a toad in the road on a trip to Maine last year.
"It's very humbling to be reminded as we see these creatures that we live in a greater community," Hsu said. "It's kind of refreshing and really healing to be back in nature and know that we exist in a greater ecosystem, not just what we build."