It’s the time of year when large numbers of frogs can be seen on the roads at night with predictable results — death under the wheels of cars and other traffic.

SERIOUS flooding in recent times is prompting people to look at new ways of resolving, long-term, a problem that’s likely to remain with us, given climate change and all that implies.

SOME people who tend to get upset about the building of houses in rural areas often ignore the fact that the over-expansion of Dublin is a far more serious environmental problem for the country. Just sniff the air in the capital or observe traffic there and you quickly get the message.

ANYONE who has ever tried to organise a litter clean-up in their area will have found a number of willing volunteers, but also people who believe it’s “the council’s job’’ and not theirs.

ONE of the most uplifting things about visiting a school, especially a primary school these days, is to immediately sense a keener awareness of nature and the environment.

SLOWLY but, hopefully, surely the message is hitting home that there are better ways of getting around cities than by car, bus or train.

The sight of a carcass of a mature deer on the roadside in the precincts of Killarney National Park, recently, brought home in a graphic way the fact that large numbers of animals, large and small, are being killed on our roads.

RECENT storms and awesome tidal surges not only did enormous damage to the coastline, they also washed in a startling volume of waste showing that large-scale dumping takes place at sea.

PEOPLE out walking by the sea during the Christmas and New Year period, especially those who hadn’t done so for some time, may have noticed fresh erosion in areas.

WE can see the effects of climate change outside the front door.