Amphibians are among the most threatened groups of animals in the world. They need both clean water in which to breed and moist, shady shelter on land in which to live for the rest of the year. When one of the two is missing, they disappear – quietly and almost unnoticed.
In 2020 one of the small pools in the working part of Ecopark Vaya was turned into a habitat for salamanders and other amphibians. Instead of being ‘tidied up’, the pool was deliberately left natural, and piles of brushwood and branches were heaped around it.
Brushwood looks like nothing much, but for amphibians it is home. Moisture lingers beneath it even on the hottest summer days, worms, snails and insects – the salamanders’ food – gather there, and animals can hide from predators and from the sun. A pile of brushwood is one of the simplest and most effective ways to create shelter for small animals.
Besides salamanders, the pool and the shelters around it are used by newts, frogs and countless invertebrates. Together they are an important part of the food chain – food for birds, snakes and small mammals – and a natural regulator of insects.
This activity was carried out with our own funds and labour. It shows that protecting nature does not always require large investments – sometimes it is enough to leave a place in peace and give it what it needs.
Today the brushwood pool is one of the quietest places in the ecopark. Few visitors notice it, but for its inhabitants it is their whole world.
Project summary
Project: Habitat for salamanders and other amphibians
Year: 2020
Location: Ecopark Vaya
Activity: setting aside a small pool as an amphibian habitat, creating shelters from brushwood and branches, maintaining natural conditions
Funding: own funds and volunteer work
Status: completed
Photo: Attila Pál / Unsplash