Roxborough Toad Detour Needs Volunteer Crossing Guards

Anyone who has ever played the classic video game “Frogger” knows how difficult it can be for our amphibious friends to get across the street. The perils of this hazardous journey prompted the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education to organize the annual Toad Detour in Upper Roxborough.

According to the organization’s website, the Toad Detour protects the local toad population of the Schuylkill Center and the surrounding Roxborough neighborhood as they migrate to and from their breeding grounds each spring.

When the toads emerge from hibernation in the early spring, hundreds of them cross Port Royal, Hagy’s Mill and other nearby roads to mate in the Roxborough Reservoir or the Schuylkill Center’s ponds.

The Detour’s volunteers erect barricades and help divert traffic during busy toad crossing evenings, saving hundreds of toads from being hit by cars.

Volunteers are needed for evening shifts through June. You can sign up for one shift or several, and all ages are welcome. Attending a volunteer orientation is recommended before starting. A 30-minute short documentary has been created about the annual event, which was started by a local resident in 2009. The center took over the project in 2011.

Contact Claire Morgan at cmorgan@schuylkillcenter.org, 215-482-7300, ext. 120 to get involved.