After driving six minutes in light rain from her home to a stretch of road near the Greenwood Town Office, Mack Connor decided it wasn’t a good idea and turned back.

She thought to herself, “You are going out to save the amphibians, but you’re driving over them.”

Like others working along Gore Road and across Maine, her mission is to help amphibians safely cross roads as they move each spring from winter habitats to vernal pools and other water sources.

So far, Maine Big Night — as it’s called — has helped more than 20,000 amphibians cross roads safely.

A “big night” is a critical moment in an amphibian’s life cycle, when certain species — prompted by temperature and rainfall — begin a mass migration to breeding grounds. The event can involve large numbers, making it both striking and ecologically important.

Volunteers like Connor also collect data to better understand how wildlife interacts with infrastructure and how design can reduce harm.

After reconsidering her drive, Connor said she now stays within a three-mile radius of her home on Intervale Road and travels slowly, sometimes stopping multiple times to move amphibians from the road.

The migration season generally runs from March 15 to May 15, when temperatures rise above about 45 degrees. Connor said spotting amphibians is fairly easy with a flashlight — “you see the reflections in their eyes” — though she sometimes encounters wolf spiders as well.

On April 16, Connor — a Telstar Middle School teacher of biology, ecology and life science — described heading out with her friend, Sophie List, of Bethel. At 8:23 p.m., it was 55 degrees, and rain had begun about an hour earlier. Roads need to be sufficiently wet, she said, and when handling amphibians, “you have to wet your hands first.”

On a stretch of Intervale Road in Bethel, she helped 53 spring peepers, six toads, eight spotted salamanders and two pickerel frogs reach safety on their way to a hidden vernal pool.

“I didn’t even know there was a vernal pool out there,” Connor said.

She added, “You also count the ones that are dead in the road. Which is sad. Dead peepers and salamanders. I cried a little.”

Connor and List wear fluorescent clothing to warn motorists to slow down.

Despite what the name suggests, those amphibian crossings often occur multiple times each spring.

“Tonight is a big night, last night was a big night, there are so many different big nights,” Connors said.