Today - 20th March - is World Frog Day, so ARC is delighted to see that frog numbers in a wood in Helensburgh, 25 miles north-west of Glasgow, have boomed after conservation work carried out as part of our past work in Scotland. Over 1,000 clumps of frog spawn have been spotted in the pond, which was created with help from local volunteers back in 2016.

Newly laid frogspawn covers the pond surface. © Pete Minting/ARC

“Our frogs, toads and newts are having a hard time, battling habitat loss, disease and disturbance,” says Dr Pete Minting, ARC’s Scottish Project Officer. “So it’s gratifying to report that in this wood, we now have a booming population of common frogs thanks to the habitat creation we did just four years ago.”

This work in Scotland is just one part of our wider ongoing efforts to help amphibians. ARC is working with a broad range of partners to create and manage habitats for amphibians. For example, our rarest amphibian – the pool frog – is now back the UK, thanks to our reintroduction programme, after going extinct in the 1990s.

“World Frog Day is a great opportunity to reflect on the ways that we can all make a positive difference,” adds ARC’s Conservation Director, Jim Foster. “Our habitat creation and reintroduction programmes are making life easier for amphibians, at a time when they need it most and when humans need healthy, biodiverse environments more than ever”

To celebrate World Frog Day we have devised this fiendish but fun frog-themed quiz. Take a few minutes to test your knowledge of the wonderful world of frogs!

We have also worked with BBC Wildlife Magazine to produce species guides for some of the UK’s native amphibians. Check them out at www.discoverwildlife.com/animal-facts/amphibians.

If you would like to encourage amphibians into your garden or local green space take a look at our leaflet Dragons in Your Garden for our top tips.

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Dragons in your Garden encourages gardeners to take simple steps to help out the UK's frogs, toads, newts, snakes and lizards - many of which are disappearing from the wider countryside.