The Green Recovery Challenge Fund has given a significant financial boost to northern pool frog recovery. It has funded Recovering the Pool Frog - England’s Rarest Amphibian (Project OM-20-02408) which ran from March 2021 to June 2022.  It enabled the employment of staff (John Baker, Ben King and Emily Jordan) to work specifically on northern pool frog recovery.

Videography by Katie Garrett, music composed by Rob Hicks and Tristan Noon

Population monitoring at the reintroduction sites in 2021 and spring 2022 revealed that both populations bred successfully across several ponds. The project team was assisted by trained volunteers for the first time in monitoring at Thompson Common, where the newly established population continues to grow. It is hoped that the frogs will spread to other ponds within the reserve, as well as adjacent sites which are being restored for wildlife by project partner, Norfolk Wildlife Trust.

Head-starting was also successful in 2021. The target of rearing and releasing 300 animals was surpassed with 542 late stage tadpoles being added to the reintroduction sites. Our volunteers also assisted with tadpole husbandry and releases.

Several ponds at the initial reintroduction site (where the species was reintroduced from Sweden) are being managed to hold back vegetation growth. Keeping relatively ‘open’ ponds for northern pool frogs also benefits other herpetofauna (great crested newt, smooth newt, common frog, common toad, grass snake and viviparous lizard) and a host of other wetland residents and visitors.

The project has provided firm foundations for future work.

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Project updates:

July 2022 - Try our northern pool frog quiz!

May 2022 - A sound start to the pool frog survey season

Mar 2022 - Take our World Frog Day quiz!

Nov 2021 - Bringing the northern pool frog to the wider world

Sept 2021 - Promising news for pool frog populations

Jul 2021 - Pool frog recovery team hops to it

Jul 2021 - Historic reintroduction reverses extinction of England’s rarest frog

Mar 2021 - World Frog Day 2021 – celebrating the UK’s rarest amphibian

Dec 2020 - Pool frogs take a leap forward thanks to Government’s Green Recovery funding

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This project was funded by the Government's Green Recovery Challenge Fund. The fund was developed by Defra and its Arm's-Length Bodies. It is being delivered by The National Lottery Heritage Fund in partnership with Natural England, the Environment Agency and Forestry Commission.

ARC also wishes to acknowledge support from individuals and organisations who generously offered their services free of charge or at discounted prices. This has been invaluable to the success of our head-starting. Huge thanks to:

• Matthew Rowthorn, Custom Aquaria
• Wrigglies, Dunstable
• John Courteney-Smith, Arcadia
• Monkfield Nutrition