Hello, we are Celtic Rewilding, an organisation committed to restoring Britain's broken nature.
Over the centuries, Humans have eroded away our wildnerness, hunted out large herbivores and predators, chopped down the great forests, and drained the vast wetlands.
Caught up in this mix has been 3 species of frog, revealved to be native through a combination of concrete fossil evidence and historical records. These species matter not only for their rarity but because they are ecological indicators, each tied to habitats we are working to restore:
- Agile frog (Rana dalmatina): Once native to East Anglia, this fast, slender woodland frog thrives in light wood-pasture mosaics maintained by large herbivores. Its return would mark the recovery of these rare open-woodland systems; habitats now a central focus of rewilding across Britain.
- European tree frog (Hyla arborea): “a frog of excellent parrat green”, as the Norwich based 17th century naturalist Thomas Browne beautifully phrased it. With its striking tropical appearance, yet resilience even to freezing winters, this frog is a highly visible animal, often basking atop bramble. As a flagship species, it can galvanise public support for acceptance of wet and scrubby habitats in the landscape.
- Moor frog (Rana arvalis): The most frequently recorded in British fossil deposits, the males simultaneously turn a spectacular blue en masse in spring, attracting thousands of people to witness this spectacle. It depends on lowland bogs and fens - ecosystems devastated by drainage and peat-cutting. Its revival would symbolise the return of functioning peatlands, habitats critical for biodiversity and carbon storage.
Together, these frogs represent the missing pieces of Britain’s ecological puzzle. They can from a large biomass, being a vital source of food for species returning like white storks and otters. They also rely on good quality aquatic and terrestrial habitats, representing barometers of environmental health, and captivating species that connect people emotionally to wild places. Their reintroduction is not an isolated project, but part of a broader project to restore what should be, had it not been for intensive and adverse human impact.
The project’s design is built around a phased release strategy, running on a three-year cycle. Following the initial releases in 2026, additional reintroduction sites will be identified and prepared, with the first offsite releases expected in 2027. By 2029, we expect stable, self-sustaining populations to be established, with a full rollout to further landscapes by 2030.
The biodiversity benefits will be clear: the return of these wonderful amphibian keystones will enable a robust food chain to develop, further supporting additional reintroductions such as white/black storks to the estate.
In terms of carbon, rewilding interventions for amphibians at Westacre – particularly through restoring peaty wetlands (moor frog) and woodland regeneration (agile frog) – will enhance carbon sequestration and storage. Amphibian reintroduction potentially plays a significant part in restoring balanced ecosystems so that carbon storage is optimised. Studies in California have shown that when amphibian populations are healthy, the vast consumption of detritivores (e.g., woodlice, earthworms) allows soils to proliferate and become a carbon sink. We hope to conduct our own experiments on the estate to establish whether this can happen in a British context, developing a project with the University of Cambridge, who we have worked with previously.
Livelihoods and enterprise will also benefit. Experience from continental Europe demonstrates the public appeal of frogs as flagship species. In the Netherlands, tree frog displays attract hundreds of photographers, while the dramatic ‘blueing’ of moor frogs brings thousands of visitors to peatland reserves.
Organizer
Celtic Rewilding
Organizer