FrogWatch Climate Change Project

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Between 2015 and 2018 Frogwatch investigated climate change effects on the call behaviour of our local frogs, i.e. a possible earlier onset of breeding calls in a warming climate.

Data collection by volunteers involved weekly monitoring of 15 survey sites across the ACT between June and October each year.

Interestingly, 2015 was very cold, 2016 very wet and both 2017 and 2018 were very dry. The analysis of the extensive data set is still under way. Just get in touch with frogwatch@ginninderralandcare.org.au if you would like more details!

A great article about aspects of this project was published in The Conversation: Friday Essay: frogwatching – charting climate change’s impact in the here and now. (July 6, 2018)

More information here Project outline and procedures    

Site list with coordinates

This project has been funded by the ACT Government, Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate

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FrogWatch Bio-Indicator study 2018

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This is a very exciting project- building on the 2015 Bio-indicator study!!

Objectives:
Building on from Hoefer and Starrs (2016), this project expanded the number of indicator sites from 30 to 45 sites, encompassing newly designed Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) infrastructure within the ACT. This provided a key baseline for comparison of habitat values of  ACT Healthy Waterways constructed WSUD infrastructure in the near future. Furthermore, a re-examination of sites used in the 2015 study validated the benefits accruing due to improved waterway management, with implications for the application of the revised mowing guidelines, and the Lakes and Ponds Plan of Management.

The specific aims of this project were to:
1. monitor frog species richness weekly over a 4 weeks period during October 2018
2. assess pond vegetation condition in early October 2018 in accordance with the methodology outlined in Hoefer and Starrs (2016)
3. establish the presence/absence of gambusia, an introduced fish prevalent in our urban wetlands and known to directly affect frog diversity, in January 2019
4. examine how the revised mowing guidelines are being applied to ponds in the ACT at 45 sites across the ACT

Anticipated benefits of the collected data:
• Yard stick to examine the additional value of ACT Healthy Waterways WSUD assets
• Improved understanding of how urban green space can support ecosystem function
• critical tool for the evaluation of the Lakes and Ponds Plan of Management
• Evidence for the performance of the revised mowing guidelines will allow constructive feedback to management
• Provision of much needed support to a highly successful citizen science program
• Increased understanding of habitat needs and pressures on various local frog species

So stay tuned!!

Ginninderra Catchment Group and ACT and Region Frogwatch would like to acknowledge the generous funding from ACT Healthy Waterways!

FROGWATCH useful stuff

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Here you can find all sorts of resources- keep scrolling!!

FrogCensus reports: 2022, 2021,  2020,  2019,  2018,   2017,  2016,  2015,  2014,  2013,  2012,  2011,  2010,   2009,   2008,  2007,  2006,  2005,  2004,  2003

Adrian Garrido Sanchis, Lorenzo Bertolelli, Anke Maria Hoefer, Marta Yebra Alvarez, Kumudu Munasinghe (2019): The FrogPhone: A novel device for real‐time frog call monitoring.

Frogwatch at the Short Film Festival– Doco called URBAN FROGS done by Liana Fowler (a high-school student)

.                (all photos above courtesy of Peter Ormay)

General information

What Frog Is That?

Taking a photo of a frog can be a very hard thing to do- it is much easier to take a recording of their call!! You can submit a short 20 sec recording to the Canberra Nature Map– online or by using their Naturmapr app- you will get feedback on which species you recorded, which is a great way to get more confident identifying them.

Another good way to get some help is the  FrogID from the Australian Museum. You can submit frog calls from anywhere by using your phone.  Simply download the app, create a log on and off you go!!  

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FrogWatch Tadpole Kits for Schools Program

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TADPOLE KITS FOR SCHOOLS- funded by Icon Water- Term 4 each year

Observe the magic transformation of tadpoles into frogs in your classroom.

Frogs are iconic, cute and globally under threat.

It is illegal to remove or translocate tadpoles or frogs from the wild. FrogWatch can help you to get tadpoles into your classroom, along with everything you need to raise them into young frogs.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

We have 120 kits available, with a max of 4 kits per school. Bookings follow a strict ‘first paid, first in’ rule.

Costs: $50 per kit, paired with a $50 refundable deposit. 

HOW TO ORDER YOUR TADPOLE KIT(S) 1 – 0 – 1 

Booking opens 8:00 on the 31.07.2023, no bookings prior to this date/time will be accepted

1. Fill in the Tadpole Kit request form  YOU WILL NEED YOUR ORGANISATION’S BANK ACCOUNT DETAIL FOR THIS!! 
2. An invoice and payment reference will be emailed to you in the following days, payable in 7 working days. Late payments and payments without provided payment reference will not be accepted.
3. Read and download the Tadpole Kits for Schools Terms and Conditions, the FrogWatch’s Tadpole Kit Program DIARY and our other teaching resources, including a range of educational videos
   
4. Enter pick up and return dates into your calendar.
5. Add actfrogwatcheducator@gmail.com to your address book to avoid mailouts ending up in your junk mail!

Tadpole kits pick up: First Monday of Term 4, 09.10.23, 8am-5pm @ FrogWatch Headquarter, Flynn Community Hub, 21 Bingle Street, Flynn ACT

Tadpole kits return – unless arranged otherwise: Last Monday of Term 4, 11.12.23, 8am-5pm @ FrogWatch Headquarter, Flynn Community Hub, 21 Bingle Street, Flynn ACT

Looking forward to working with you!

Missed out last time?? Simply send an email to actfrogwatcheducator@gmail.com, stating your name, your school and contact number, and we will add you to the Tadpole alert list.

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Frogwatch EDUCATION#2 FROGTALK SCHOOL VISITS

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FrogTalk SCHOOL VISITS

Are your students interested in frogs and are asking more questions than you can find answers for?? Are you teaching climate change, development, water, habitat, adaptations, evolution or nature in general??

Our school visits will increase your students’ awareness and appreciation of frogs as indicator species of environmental health. Presentations are tailored for different age groups and students interests and generally contain a presentation, a student led QnA session, and interactive learning opportunities.

HOW TO BOOK A FrogTalk: simply email your request to the Frogwatch education officer @ actfrogwatcheducator@gmail.com.

To supplement our frog talks, we have have developed a wide range of teacher-guided activities and lesson plans suitable for primary school aged children. These can be accessed with a presentation, or can be viewed online on our Teachers resource page. 

Frogwatch EDUCATION#3 The Green and golden Frog tank loan

THE GREEN AND GOLDEN FROG TANK LOAN  

This program focuses on the needs and threats of our local threatened and endangered frogs and learning outcomes will be greatly enhanced by students caring for the animal(s).

The Green and Golden frog tank loan hands-on learning initiative that can be tied in with a variety of topics, such as Climate Change, Habitat, Life, Development, Evolution, Water, Waste and Communities.

The loan fee for the frog enclosure is $250, which covers the drop off and pick up of the frog enclosure, and a 45 mins frog-talk-session to your students.

Objectives of the program (will tidy them up later)

• To involve students actively in caring for an endangered species, the iconic Green and Golden Bell Frog.
• To provide students with a range of hands-on actions for their everyday life to positively impact on the environment and to minimise their ecological footprint.
• To introduce students to various factors responsible for the dramatic decline in species numbers (e.g. climate change, introduced pest species, introduced amphibian Chytrid fungus, habitat loss, water quality changes)
• To foster discussion in classrooms about action plans and management strategies to reduce the threats, such as natural resource management plans, climate change actions and control mechanisms for pest species
• To familiarize students with the concept of endangered and threatened species.
• To promote practical actions and involvement within the wider school community to positively affect the environment, minimize the use of resources and support sustainability.
• To teach through a hands-on experience how to look after an amphibian animal.
• To increase the learning outcomes further through learning about the Captive Breeding Program for the threatened species at the Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve
• To facilitate interactions between the students and ACT FROGWATCH, through presentations and discussions with the students of frog research relating to climate change, introduced pest species or habitat destruction/fragmentation.
• To enhance and preserve significant natural assets such as frogs and their habitats

Typically, school programs about endangered species focus on delivering the theoretical component only. An important exception is the ASX Frog Focus Botany project, started in 1998 by the Taronga Zoo, and a “first” for school student involvement in endangered species monitoring. ASX was highly successful and has branched off into several other areas. There have been no educational programs in the ACT that offer a hands-on learning unit about endangered species until now. Hands-on learning accesses different methods of learning styles and students remember material better, experience accomplishment, and transfer that experience easier to other learning situations. Students with learning difficulties are “on task” more often as they feel part of the learning process. Since its inception in 2010, the Frogs for the Future project has seen high student involvement and strong learning outcomes for all class levels and student abilities. Students gained a wide range of academic and non-academic skills. Leading scientists and the Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve have greatly supported the project and assisted its development to date.

Now all ACT schools have joined the Australian Sustainable Schools Initiative (AuSSI) or ACT Smart Schools Program. Frogs For The Future supports schools in their quest to increase environmental awareness and to work towards Sustainability as it is strongly linked to environment related topics (e.g. Climate Change, Sustainability). Students gain an understanding for threats to (local) animals and ecological communities which will encourage environmental stewardship in the students. The knowledge gained by students will most effectively be communicated by these very students themselves in discussions with their families, friends and the wider community and as this leads to changes in approaches and behaviours regarding our environment. The program is designed to increase on-ground activities, such as creating frog habitats, waste management, or bush regeneration, involving the wider school community. This will help to enhance and preserve significant natural assets such as frogs and their habitats.

FROGWATCH EDUCATION#4 Resources for teachers (and everyone else)

Short Videos about a  range of frog related topics

These videos were created in 2020 by the wonderful Icon Water education team

1. Frogwatch intro – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2eUIT7NZlU
2. How frogs breathe – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIm1-fIsnQk
3. How frogs drink – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0ku96rhGGw
4. What and how frogs eat – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M35b32HK8G0
5. Where to find frogs – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flqcFgqyMn4
6. Frogs lifecycle – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5d3vn7dNJUQ
7. Corroboree frog – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KTh65KkDzs

Resources for Teachers

Puppet show: Check out a puppet show for early childhood students. Learn lots about what frogs eat, where they live and what they like. Presenter: Amelie Langevin.

FrogWatch Education Kit 2009 (3.4 MB). All you need to know to get your class engaged in finding out about frogs and our local environment!

FrogWatch’s Education Kit for Preschools to Year 2: A collection of frog related teaching activities to use in class room or at home.

FrogWatch’s Education Kit for Yr 2 to Yr 7: A collection of frog related teaching activities to use in class room or at home.

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