In less than eight weeks, a missing date on the environmental calendar became a new awareness day marked by institutions and wildlife communities in several countries. The first year taught me that starting a campaign requires less permission than persistence - and that silence, hesitation and unexpected barriers can be as instructive as early support.
The gap I could not ignore
I regularly use international wildlife days across my media channels. A date on the calendar gives people a reason to stop, notice an animal and learn something new about it. On March 20, 2026, a photographer shared a toad image for World Frog Day. Her post made me ask a simple question: if frogs have a global day, where is the day for toads?
I looked through the international environmental calendars I knew and found no established global awareness day devoted specifically to toads. I also found no amphibian-focused day in May in the calendars I reviewed. That absence felt especially strange because toads are ecologically valuable, widely misunderstood and often overshadowed by their smoother-skinned relatives.
I chose May 15 for two practical reasons. It filled a gap in the awareness calendar, and it falls during a period when toads are highly active in Israel and much of Europe. The timing creates a natural connection between public messaging and what people may actually encounter outdoors.
Why toads deserve their own spotlight
Toads are not simply less glamorous frogs. Many spend substantial time on land and return to water to breed. They consume insects and other invertebrates, making them valuable natural pest controllers in gardens, farms and functioning ecosystems. This benefit is easy for the public to understand: protecting a toad can mean protecting a quiet biological ally that works every night without chemicals or payment.
At the same time, toads and other amphibians face pressure from habitat loss, pollution, pesticides, roads, disease and climate change. Their permeable skin and dependence on both aquatic and terrestrial habitats make them especially sensitive to environmental change.
Israel gives the campaign a clear biological anchor. The country has only one native representative of the true-toad family, Bufonidae: the green toad, Bufotes viridis. When Israelis protect their toads, they are protecting the country's entire true-toad lineage.
Launching before everything was perfect
I posted the first International Toad Day announcement on March 21, one day after World Frog Day. The post introduced May 15 and used the campaign name and hashtags in both Hebrew and English. At that point there was no budget, no staff and no sponsoring organization. There was only an idea, my existing Reptiles of Israel platform and the time I was willing to invest.
I quickly created a dedicated page on the Reptiles of Israel website, published a short article on Medium, added the date to relevant environmental and international-observance lists on Wikipedia, and began conversations on Reddit. These steps gave the idea several entry points. Someone encountering it on social media could find a longer explanation; someone searching a calendar could discover the date; and someone interested in conservation could see that the idea was already being documented publicly.
I had learned something about public participation in 2018, when I initiated the campaign to choose Israel's national snake. That project ended with the Palestine viper, Daboia palaestinae, being selected after a nationwide public vote. It taught me that a clear symbol, a simple question and accessible information can bring people into a subject they may otherwise avoid. International Toad Day applied the same principle to an animal burdened by old myths and an unflattering public image.
Asking widely - and making participation easy
Once the basic materials were online, I contacted every relevant organization I could reach through personal or institutional connections in Israel. I approached conservation bodies, universities, zoos, museums and other wildlife initiatives. I also contacted international zoos and amphibian- and reptile-conservation organizations. I asked for support and participation, not funding.
The responses quickly separated into three groups. Some organizations immediately understood the value of the idea and joined without difficulty. Some did not respond. Others liked the subject but were skeptical of international awareness days in general. I see these days differently: each one creates a new conversation, and every well-designed conversation can move conservation forward.
One response was especially difficult. A conservation organization told me that it believed in the idea and the initiative, but could not participate because the campaign was hosted at a web address containing the words 'Israel Reptiles.' I did not argue or name the organization publicly. The experience surprised me because the barrier had nothing to do with toads or conservation. It also taught me that a global campaign may encounter political obstacles even when its purpose is entirely environmental.
What worked in the first year
The most surprising achievement was the decision by Israel's Ministry of Education to include International Toad Day in its Green Calendar during the campaign's first year. Israel already has a positive culture of marking international environmental dates, and once the date, purpose and initial support were organized, the ministry was willing to add it. For a new, independent initiative, that recognition created immediate credibility and a path into schools.
The National Natural History Collections at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem also marked the day. Beyond Israel, the day was marked by the German Society for Herpetology and Herpetoculture (DGHT), Fota Wildlife Park in Ireland and the Kamloops Naturalist Club in Canada. The Biblical Museum of Natural History participated in Israel. These were not identical forms of support, and I learned to document institutional recognition, participation and formal partnership separately. A running record of that first year is kept on the Reptiles of Israel site.
The outcome was modest in scale but significant in meaning. A campaign launched on March 21 with no budget or team had, by May 15, reached educational, academic and wildlife communities in several countries. It was enough to demonstrate that the idea could travel.
What did not work
I expected more zoos to participate. Toads are familiar, visually distinctive and ideal for educational programming, yet many large institutions did not reply. The lack of response was disappointing, but it was also useful information. A good idea does not automatically become a priority for an organization with its own calendar, approval process and competing campaigns.
I also learned that sending a message is not the same as creating an easy opportunity to join. In the first year, much of the outreach explained the idea, but future outreach should provide ready-to-use graphics, sample captions, activity sheets and a simple registration process. The less work a partner must do, the easier it is to say yes.
The practical lessons
- Start before the campaign feels complete. The first public post created momentum and forced the supporting materials to follow quickly.
- Give the idea a clear purpose and date. A specific annual date turns a general concern into an action people can plan around.
- Create several ways to discover the campaign. A website page, social posts, a longer article, community discussions and calendar listings serve different audiences.
- Ask widely, but expect silence. Non-response is common and should not be confused with proof that the idea has no value.
- Make participation easy. Provide partners with accurate text, images, educational activities and clear crediting rules.
- Separate recognition from partnership. Record who officially endorsed the day, who marked it publicly and who simply listed the date.
- Document everything. Dates, screenshots, links, replies, photo permissions and credits become the evidence and memory of a new campaign.
- Do not be afraid to initiate. People who care about misunderstood animals cannot wait for a larger institution to act first.
What I will do differently in year two
The second year needs to begin earlier and operate from a clearer international home. I have secured the dedicated domain internationaltoadday.org and am developing a standalone presence for the campaign, alongside the campaign's Instagram account. This does not hide its Israeli origin; it makes the purpose immediately understandable and prevents people from assuming that the initiative is limited to one country or only to reptiles.
I also plan to approach more organizations with a complete participation kit, open registration earlier, maintain a verified record of participating bodies and continue developing printable resources for children and educators. The first year proved the concept. The second should make participation simpler, broader and easier to measure.
A final message for conservation practitioners
People often fear animals because myths reach them before facts do. Snakes, toads and many other species suffer from stories that portray them as dangerous, dirty or useless. Correcting those beliefs requires science, but it also requires communication, repetition and a willingness to think like a campaigner.
My advice is simple: do not be afraid to initiate. Think about how an important conservation message can be understood, remembered and shared. Do not let silence, criticism or a lack of institutional permission stop the first step. If a species needs a voice and no suitable platform exists, start building one.