Tonight Lucy and I set off to see if we could deliver approximately 80 leaflets in 20 minutes. It started out feeling like we would never get through them all quick enough, but it wasn't long before we were down to the last few and with time to spare. We hope this will encourage some more people to participate in the Southampton marathon, half marathon, 10k and 5k races coming up in May and raise money for a local charity that supports disabled children and young people.

We enjoyed looking at the water themed art, eating cake and singing and dancing to the Southampton Ukulele band. That got us nicely warmed up to help pack away the event. We carried boxes downstairs, put the tables and chairs back into storage, and swept the floor (with the most unhelpful mop/broom thing!). It was a great event full of smiles. We can't wait for next year!

Great to have Lauren and Mitchell join us for their first Wellow Toad Patrol. We set off just before it got dark and didn't find any toads to start with. Sadly when walking back towards the main crossing section we found 2 deads toads. All the toads found seemed to be heading back off to the woods and away from the breeding ponds now. My first save was a female with a male on her back. They were very close to being squished by a car! Kim, the patrol lead, had actually already saved them once and put them back towards the breeding ponds, but they were obviously determined they were back off to the woods. After this we didn't spot any more toads for a while and Lauren and Mitchel unfortunately had to leave before the rush started. At one point I found 3 toads, with the third one again being a very near miss. I had to run to save the little fella! It was nerve-racking stuff. You can look for ages and see nothing and then suddenly spot them on the road edge or half way across. There was a bit more rain which brought even more toads out. It was actually hard to leave as I kept finding them as I went back up the lane! In total I rescued 12 toads. I think 7 females and 5 males. I need to work on my toad IDing! The total successfully crossed over tonight was 38 toads and one froglet. That increased the success rate to 41% which is up from 33%. Sadly 14 dead toads were found which goes to show how important the patrols are as many more could have been lost. This was the second busiest night for the Wellow Toad Patrol.