I'm also doing a project to try and figure out if the toad is genetically distinct from mainland populations. My favourite research memory is the first time that something really tangible happened as a result of the research that I'm doing. I met some locals on Haida Gwaii who really cared about toads; they had seen lots of adult toads on their property, and always gotten off their tractors to help get them out of harm's way. I asked if I could look on their property to see if there was a breeding site, and I found one, and they were really excited and they wanted to know what can we do to help save the toads. I said, “Well, if you can delay harvesting around your pond and leave a buffer.” And then I was driving past at the end of the summer and I saw this giant buffer that they'd left around the pond and I knew that that was saving thousands of baby toads.

You may have guessed by now but my favourite organism is the Western toad. It has a fascinating life cycle where hundreds of adult toads come together en masse to the exact same spot on a pond at the same time of year and have a giant party. The females lay thousands of eggs and the males make this release call when they're trying to get a mate, and that's why they're my favorite organism.