It's Toad Detour Time In Upper Roxborough
By Molly Dally
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – It's Toad Detour time again in Upper Roxborough. Six weeks after the amphibians made the trek to the old reservoir to mate; their tiny offspring are starting to make the long trip to the woods and fields where they'll grow up.
It's hard to imagine how teeny tiny toadlets -- smaller than a dime -- manage to climb the steep sides of the reservoir, let alone hop down the ramps to cross busy Port Royal Avenue to relative safety.
Volunteer coordinator Claire Morgan says that's where the Toad Detour comes in.
"They tend to move when there are warm temperatures…after we've had a rain, so it's nice and moist. Sometimes we just let them make their way across when we barricade the roads, but sometimes we do use little plastic cups to scoop them up, if they're in any danger in the middle of the road we will use a cup and very gingerly pick them up."
Roxborough native Joe Tinneny and his son helped some adult toads cross back in March.
"This is the first time I've seen the babies, actually, the young ones. This is very intriguing -- look how little they are."
Toad Detour volunteers will be on hand through June 30th, but the roads won't necessarily be closed.
"We'll only close it on evenings when we see toadlets. We don't want to inconvenience drivers, but we certainly want to protect nature."
As insect eaters, toads play an important role in the environment. And volunteers are the lifeblood of the Toad Detour.
"We probably have over a hundred people that have signed up at various times, but we always need people."
To find out more about the Toad Detour, and how to volunteer, visit schuylkillcenter.org.
Listen to extended interview:
