Times are getting tougher, and the commitment to protecting the climate, the environment and biodiversity seems to be taking more and more of a back seat, particularly in the context of global politics. This is partly due to other global crises, partly to the denial and distortion of scientific facts, and even to powerful (and highly corrupt) heads of state and destructive billionaires. However, the climate and biodiversity crises cannot be simply ignored, nor can they be put on hold. This makes it all the more important that we, as a society, stay on the ball and keep up the pressure. In 2025, we at Frogs & Friends and Citizen Conservation did just that, once again in collaboration with many other institutions, scientists and species conservationists.
New staff and animals
A fish expert working with amphibians and reptiles – can that really work? Absolutely! In April, biochemist and goby enthusiast Julia Bindl joined the team and has been supporting the species management team ever since. She hasn’t yet managed to sneak a goby into the CC portfolio, though…
A real thriller then unfolded in autumn 2025, fortunately with a happy ending: 55 confiscated Alpine newts now form the basis for conservation breeding programmes for three rare species or subspecies of the Alpine newt – a joint effort by Hanover Zoo, the Sachsenhagen Wildlife and Species Conservation Centre and CC. CC Advisory Board member Uwe Seidel played a key role in the rescue of the Alpine newts; he had been called in as an expert and, as a newly appointed CC staff member, continues to look after the animals alongside his colleagues from Hanover and Sachsenhagen. There have even been some new arrivals already!
This year’s cover and an overview of our partners at Citizen Conservation and Frogs & Friends
The new faces at CC: Species manager Julia Bindl and Salamander expert Uwe Seidl
We are devoting a double-page spread to one of our greatest achievements in 2025: the Alpine Salamander Centre of Excellence.
Here’s what happened with our programmes in 2025.
Highlights from our year, presented in a chronological overview
Here’s what happened with our programmes in 2025.
In 2025, a new species was added to the programme: Roberts’ cichlid (Limbochromis robertsi). Preparations for the inclusion of further species are already underway, and these are expected in 2026. The number of people taking part in CC is also growing! Both the number of keepers and the number of tanks have risen by around a quarter; by the end of the year, CC participants were looking after over 5,300 animals. There have also been some breeding successes, but more on that from page 34 of the annual report.
In 2025, we also launched the Italy Steering Group in collaboration with the Italian Gecko Association (IGA), whose members will support us with animal procurement, participant recruitment and fundraising.
Our Growing Online Community and Updates on Our Digital Communications
Through Citizen Conservation’s social media channels, we were able to reach many new people in 2025. This was also down to closer collaboration with our zoological partners. But that’s not all! Feuersalamander.NET has launched its own website, funded by CC, to bring together the network’s activities in one place. On the CC website, we have published new species pages, provided FAQs to explain our organisation and programmes in more detail to website visitors, and also created a new landing page for the newsletter to give it greater visibility. Read more about our external communications from page 40 onwards.
Read the joint 2025 annual report from Frogs & Friends and Citizen Conservation here.