Green Cross Toad

Chiswick Business Park helps protect health of its short, fat and warty local residents

Chiswick Business Park, which prides itself on getting along with its neighbours has gone to extraordinary lengths to protect the health and welfare of some of its short, fat and warty local residents.

As the toad migrating season leaps into spring, Chiswick Park is the first site in London to register an Amphibian Migratory Crossing to help toads cross one of Chiswick’s busiest roads, to safety.

The question ‘Why did the toad cross the road?’ is a very serious one as London’s toads are starting to migrate and often have to travel up to half a mile across fields and busy roads to reach their destinations. But each year it is estimated that this perilous journey claims an 20 tonnes of toad populations - squashed crossing the Britain’s busy roads

As the first site in London to register to protect the nation’s toads, toad patrols and 'toads crossing' signs are have been in place from early April by the Chiswick Park Enjoy-Work team. These are needed because so many toads are heading to the Chiswick Park lake to breed after hibernation behind the hedges, wood-piles and leaf litter behind Gunnersbury station, and can easily get squished by the traffic on their way to Chiswick Park.

There are three ‘Toad Crossing’ signs on the peripheral road which surrounds the office park and one on the road leading into the business park to restrict these tragic road casualties of what is sadly a declining species.

“Toads need a helping hand when it comes to getting over this busy road,” says Fran Goddard, Community Manager at Chiswick Park Enjoy-Work. “Toads are in decline in the UK and Chiswick Park will help them survive and not end up on the endangered list when they wake up and migrate en-masse back to the pond”.

Lucy Benyon at Froglife the charity that protects UK amphibians and reptiles commented: “Chiswick Park is the only active Amphibian Migratory Crossing we know of in London. Using signs to encourage people to drive slowly during the migratory period is crucial if we are to reduce the number of toads killed on our roads. It's great to see that Londoners really do care!”

April 16, 2008