Film time for Chilliwack's famous tiny toads
Chiliwack Times
Chilliwack’s tiny toads that have received so much attention over the years will soon be movie stars.
Each year as thousands of tiny at-risk Western Toads and Red Legged Tree Frogs emerge from the wetlands of Ryder Lake to journey into the woods, they are faced with a ring of pavement.
In some years the roads are black with the sight of amphibians the size of a thumbnail as they navigate the blacktop, many not making it, crushed under the wheels of vehicles.
Last summer, the Fraser Valley Conservancy (FVC) completed a toad tunnel to help the little ones make it to the forest. This Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. the FVC is calling for amphibian fencing volunteers to help install directional fencing to guide the toads to safety.
The story of the toads and their peril at the hands of vehicle drivers is an oft-told one, but the response, the volunteers, the tunnel construction and the effort to protect the species is representative of the larger picture of species protection in British Columbia.
The Wilderness Committee (WC) is part-way through the creation of a documentary project called Toad People.
“It tells the story of the tiny western toads in Ryder Lake and the community members who have stepped up to protect them from being run over on roads during their migration,” according to WC communications co-ordinator Alexis Soymenoff. “The project also looks at the broader issue of the lack of provincial protection for B.C.’s 1,900-plus species at risk (many of which live in the Fraser Valley).”
While a large portion of the filming in Ryder Lake is finished, it was done so on a shoestring budget, so the WC are using a crowdfunding website to raise $20,000 to finish the film.
“Now, we need funds to wrap up the filming in communities throughout the province, and to complete the post-production elements,” according to WC’s Indiegogo campaign page.
Money is needed for editing, composition of an original score, as well as options to promote the film upon completion in the fall of 2016 to get it to a wider audience through film festivals, broadcasters and other platforms.
Like most crowdfunding campaigns, there are benefits to donors, in this case ranging from a virtual kiss from a toad ($5) to a “Toad Person” certificate ($35), to original artwork (various donation amounts) to days in the field with biologists at various sites around B.C. ($1,000).
For the last four years, co-directors of Toad People Mike McKinlay and Isabelle Groc have documented community efforts to save species at risk in B.C.
To connect to the campaign and see a three-minute trailer of clips mostly filmed in Ryder Lake, visit www.indiegogo.com/projects/toad-people.
• To volunteer with the FVC on Feb. 13 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. email projects@fraservalleyconservancy.ca or all 604-625-0066.
Photo: Western Toad (Isabelle Groc)
