Frogs, salamanders and newts attracted the attention of the 25 people who participated in the 2nd Amphibian Identification Workshop, integrated with the Education and Environmental Volunteering Initiatives Week (SEIVA) 2020.

From different parts of the country, the spaces for the event quickly sold, as had already happened in the first edition.

During the online session, different amphibian species were introduced, their distinctive characteristics and the importance of the functions they play in ecosystems.

This Workshop focused on the most endangered and unloved aquatic vertebrates in our country. Perhaps because they live in humid and gloomy places, amphibians suffer persecutions generated by ignorance, fear and superstition. One of the objectives of the initiative was to counter this way of looking at the natural world.

Thus, Lagoa City Council and the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) joined together once again to promote scientific literacy and environmental education. In the year dedicated to sustainability, the Municipality intends to raise awareness of the importance of conserving habitats where amphibians can thrive since the destruction of the ecosystems where they live is their greatest threat.

The choice for the online format was due to the desire to maintain the activities of the discovery of the environment in a context of minimising situations that could lead to the spread of Covid-19.