Use the month links on the right to see the Orleton nature gallery for that month. The most recent month is shown first.

If the following interests you then you might also like to visit the Nature's calendar and Herefordshire Wildlife Trust web sites.

Go out to your local pond and enjoy the frogs while you can. The scientists are telling us about their fears of a mass extinction, the largest seen since the dinosaurs, and it is of our frogs and toads. A parasitic fungus (amphibian chytrid) is sweeping across the world effecting amphibians of all sorts and is particularly lethal for the frogs and toads. It has now arrived in Britain and when it gets a hold it can kill 80% of a population in a few months.

Conservation groups such as the World Conservation Union and the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums have declared 2008 the International Year of the Frog to highlight the plight of amphibians and to focus research on how to control this fungus.

David Attenborough, who is the patron of the Year of the Frog, said "Amphibians were the first backboned creatures to colonise the land. They are fascinating. It’s terrible that they are endangered. To have a whole section of the animal kingdom facing elimination is a major disaster, the consequences of which are difficult to overemphasise. They are the foundation of many eco-systems."

To read more about what is being done look on the internet under Amphibian Ark, or contact the two associations mentioned above.

If you want to see frogs do visit the pond in the recreation ground or ask about the pond at Orleton School.