In the last few months, Mike McKinlay and myself have been busy filming in the field for our documentary Toad People, produced by the Wilderness Committee.
A few years ago, I came across the story of the Western toad in the community of Chilliwack. Every summer, fingernail-sized juvenile toads undertake a perilous migration from the wetlands where they were born to the forest where they live. Many of the toadlets will never get to the other side of the road. Local residents became concerned about the toads’ plight and looked for ways to help the species survive in an environment where urban development is taking over.
Across the province similar initiatives exist, with local people taking action to protect species at risk in their backyard.
The idea for the film Toad People was born, and we have been filming the efforts of various toad communities across the province, working with a videographer to make a documentary about these wildlife defenders that we call the Toad People.
In the last few months, Mike and I have been filming in the Kootenays, in Chilliwack, and in Whistler. Our work has been covered in local media in the Valley Voice and in the Chilliwack Progress.
In the film, we follow the Clegg family who lives in Ryder Lake and is involved in looking after Western toads and barn owls, a truly inspiring community model.
Banner Photo: Steve Clegg and his daughter at a barn in the Fraser Valley where they are about to band barn owl chicks, a species at risk in British Columbia