May 15, 2026
Our Western Toad Monitoring Programs at Alice Lake and Garibaldi Springs Parks need your help! As the tadpoles go through metamorphosis, they gather at the edge of the breeding ponds, then begin their migration into the forest where they will spend most of their adult life. A key goal of our program is to monitor the toadlet migration and mitigate potential impacts from trail hikers and bikers.
Do you hike the Four Lakes Trail?
We are looking for volunteers to help keep an eye out for toadlets:
- On the trails above Coho Park in late June and early July
- On the Four Lakes Trail (and surrounding trails) in July and August.
There are two ways to contribute:
- Join our group of scheduled volunteers. Sign up to hike on your choice of day(s). Having scheduled volunteers helps ensure that we have eyes on the ground every day.
- Report toad sightings on your own, whenever you are out hiking or biking.
What to Do (when you find migrating toads)
- Take one or more photos and a GPS point if possible (check your phone settings to automatically geo-reference photos).
- Record the date, time and weather when photos and observations are made.
- Note the section of trail where toad activity is occurring. Ideally the accuracy of this location should be within 3 metres. You can do this by:
- Using a GPS in the field
- Dropping a pin on your favourite trail app (Trailforks, Gaia, etc)
- Drawing points or circles around the affected area in Google Earth.
- Record a rough estimate of the number of live toadlets observed (i.e. 1-10, 11-100, 101-500, 500+)
- Note whether or not any dead toadlets were observed and record a rough estimate of the number of dead toadlets using same categories.
Submit Your Observations
- Record and submit your observations via iNaturalist. This is the preferred option, as your observations contribute to a global database that is used by researchers, policy makers and conservationists worldwide to track species occurrences, analyze biodiversity trends, and inform conservation decisions.
- If you don’t have an iNaturalist account, please email to: toads@naturesquamish.ca and indicate if we may add the observation on your behalf.
Adult Toads and Other Amphibians
Observations of adult toads and other amphibians can also be submitted to iNaturalist, to provide valuable data about breeding sites and timing, and upland habitat use.
For more information about our program
Check out our volunteer opportunities
Banner photo: Tiny toadlet on mossy forest floor, by Erin Galloway. Inset photos: John Buchanan, BC Parks Rangers, Erin Galloway.