A Russian bucket brigade helps toads and frogs cross the road to get to a spawning site

A NATURE RESERVE NEAR SESTRORETSK, Russia (AP) — It happens every spring along a section of road north of Russia's second-largest city of St. Petersburg: Volunteers, many in yellow vests, patrol near the Sestroretsk Bog nature reserve.

They serve as crossing guards for thousands of toads and frogs, who are trying to navigate toward their spawning sites.

There usually isn’t much traffic, but even the relatively low number of vehicles still would kill up to 1,000 toads each year, said Konstantin Milta, senior herpetology researcher with the St. Petersburg Zoological Institute.

“On large highways, the death rate is monstrous. Sometimes the surface of the road can be covered with a layer of dead animals,” Milta told The Associated Press.

On this section, a large reddish-orange sign that features one of the amphibians warns motorists: “Attention! Slow down! Toads are crossing the road.”

When the volunteers find one of the creatures, they pick it up, put it in a plastic bucket and make a record before depositing it in the grass on the other side.

“So cute!” one of the volunteers said, referring to how the toad clung to her pink glove.

In the Sestroretsk Bog reserve, “toads migrate from the forest to the bay in the spring, reproduce in the reed beds in the coastal strip, lay eggs, and then, somewhere in mid-May, they leave the water and migrate back to the forest,” Milta said.

“So they cross this road twice,” he added.

Members of this bucket brigade have been volunteering their time since 2016, said Viktoria Samuta, head of the environmental education section of the Directorate of Protected Areas of St. Petersburg.

Depending on the weather, the work begins in mid-April and continues for a month or longer, she said, with more than 700 volunteers take part every year.

Last year, Samuta said, volunteers helped move thousands of specimens.

“It is very good that in recent years there have been more and more people ready to help living beings,” she said. “Our mission is, precisely, to make people love our nature more and more, and be willing to help it.”

Volunteer Diana Kulinichenko called it a nice break from her studies.

“I’ve been whining all semester that I want to go to the forest," Kulinichenko said. "And here’s the forest, the toads, you help the toads, you’re in the forest, you breathe clean air. And I just really want to volunteer, so after this I’ll be looking for where else I can do it.”

A volunteer holds a toad at the Sestroretsk Bog natural reserve outside St. Petersburg, Russia, on Wednesday, April 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)

A fence keeps frogs off a road until volunteers can move them across safely in the Sestroretsk Bog natural reserve outside St. Petersburg, Russia, on Wednesday, April 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)

A volunteer helps a frog cross the road in the Sestroretsk Bog natural reserve outside St. Petersburg, Russia, on Wednesday, April 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)

A frog sits in the water in the Sestroretsk Bog natural reserve outside St. Petersburg, Russia, Wednesday, April 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)

Frogs safely reach a spawning area in the Sestroretsk Bog natural reserve outside St. Petersburg, Russia, on Wednesday, April 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)

Frogs leap to get into the water in the Sestroretsk Bog natural reserve outside St. Petersburg, Russia, on Wednesday, April 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)

A fence keeps frogs off a road until volunteers can move them across safely in the Sestroretsk Bog natural reserve outside St. Petersburg, Russia, on Wednesday, April 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)

A volunteer carries frogs across a road in the Sestroretsk Bog natural reserve outside St. Petersburg, Russia, on Wednesday, April 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)

A frog crosses a road to get a spawning area in the Sestroretsk Bog natural reserve outside St. Petersburg, Russia, on Wednesday, April 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)

Frogs sit near a road fenced off by volunteers who help them move across safely in the Sestroretsk Bog natural reserve near St. Petersburg, Russia, on Wednesday, April 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)

MONTREAL (AP) — George Russell won his first race of the Formula 1 season as the Mercedes driver held off defending race winner Max Verstappen at the Canadian Grand Prix on Sunday.

It was the fourth victory of Russell’s career, and the race ended under yellow when McLaren teammates Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris staged a wheel-to-wheel late battle that ended with Norris hitting the wall.

“It's amazing to be back on the top step,” Russell said. “I felt last year was a victory lost, so to get the victory and see (teammate) Kimi (Antonelli) on the podium, too, is an amazing day for the team. I think it shows the strength of our cars in the cooler conditions, so let's see in the coming races.”

Russell started on pole for the second consecutive year in Montreal and held the advantage for most of the race at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. The British driver became the fourth race winner this year, joining points leader leader Piastri, Norris and Verstappen, the four-time reigning F1 champion.

Verstappen, who has one more race to go before points drop off his license and eliminate the possibility of a one-race suspension, was satisfied with his second-place finish.

“Was quite a good race, even though in the first two stints we were struggling with the tires,” the Dutchman said. “We hung in there in the final stint. That was the maximum we could have achieved today.”

Mercedes rookie Antonelli finished third behind Verstappen for his first F1 podium.

“A really good day. It was absolutely victory on merit,” Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said. "We controlled the race all the way. George drove brilliantly and Kimi didn't crack under pressure, even with the McLaren right behind him.

“It's been a while since we've had two cars on the podium with a win and that's why everyone is delighted.”

The two McLarens came together when Norris, then in fifth, attempted to pass Piastri multiple times on the 67th lap out of 70. Norris ultimately ran into Piastri and bounced into the wall, drawing a safety car for the final laps.

“I was defending the inside, then I felt a small touch,” Piastri said. “That's all I've got to go on at the moment. It's a shame for the team.”

Norris took responsibility.

“I just went for it. I thought Oscar would move a bit more to the right, not leave a gap,” Norris said. “I wasn't expecting anything easy from him. But in the end, it was all my mistake. I take full blame and I want to apologize to my whole team and to Oscar for attempting something like that.”

Piastri finished fourth, ending an eight-race podium streak dating back to the second race of the season. McLaren as a team failed to reach the top three for the first time this year.

“We never want to see a McLaren car involved in an accident and definitely not contact between our two cars,” team principal Andrea Stella said. "This is a situation we know is not acceptable. At the same time, we appreciate that Lando immediately owned it.

“He raised his hand, as you should, and apologized to the team. For us, that sort of resets the situation. I'm sure there's an important learning point for him from this race. He's paid a price the championship and we value the way he handled it.”

Piastri arrived in Montreal — the 10th of 24 stops this season — with a 10-point lead over Norris amid a dominant season for the papaya-colored cars.

The Australian driver extended his advantage to 22 points over his British teammate. Verstappen, ranked third in the drivers’ championship, now trails Norris by 21 points. A race win is worth 25.

Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were fifth and sixth. Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg, Haas’ Esteban Ocon and Williams’ Carlos Sainz Jr. rounded out the top 10.

Leclerc, after holding off on a second pit stop, was the leader until the 54th lap when he finally swapped tires.

That set up a five-man race to the finish involving Russell, Verstappen, Antonelli, Piastri and Norris in the final 16 laps. A little more than five seconds separated the drivers.

Lance Stroll, the lone Canadian on the 20-driver grid, finished 17th after starting 18th. The Aston Martin driver received a 10-second penalty for forcing Alpine’s Pierre Gasly off the track on the 47th lap.

The Canadian GP returns to Circuit Gilles Villeneuve next year. The next F1 race is the Austrian Grand Prix on June 29.

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

McLaren driver, Britain's Lando Norris walks away from his car following a collision during the F1 Canadian Grand Prix auto race in Montreal, Sunday, June 15, 2025. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP)

Mercedes driver, Britain's George Russell leads Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen, of the Netherlands, through the hairpin during Formula One auto racing action at the Canadian Grand Prix, in Montreal on Sunday, June 15, 2025. (Evan Buhler/The Canadian Press via AP)

Mercedes driver, Britain's George Russell is sprayed by teammate Kimi Antonelli, right, of Italy, after winning the F1 Canadian Grand Prix auto race in Montreal, Sunday, June 15, 2025. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)

Mercedes driver, Britain's George Russell jumps off his car after winning the F1 Canadian Grand Prix auto race in Montreal, Sunday, June 15, 2025. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)

Mercedes driver George Russell, front, of the United Kingdom, takes a turn ahead of the pack during the F1 Canadian Grand Prix auto race in Montreal, Sunday, June 15, 2025. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)

Mercedes driver George Russell, center front, of the United Kingdom, leads the pack during the F1 Canadian Grand Prix auto race in Montreal, Sunday, June 15, 2025. (Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian Press via AP)

Mercedes driver George Russell, of the United Kingdom, leads the pack during the F1 Canadian Grand Prix auto race in Montreal, Sunday, June 15, 2025. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP)

Mercedes driver George Russell, center right, of the United Kingdom, celebrates after winning the F1 Canadian Grand Prix auto race in Montreal, Sunday, June 15, 2025. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP)

Mercedes driver George Russell, of the United Kingdom, celebrates after winning the F1 Canadian Grand Prix auto race in Montreal, Sunday, June 15, 2025. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP)