By Harmony Tenney
SAVE THE FROGS! is a worldwide movement dedicated to protecting amphibians from extinction. A portion of their mission is to educate and empower people to become stakeholders in amphibian conservation through first-hand experience via ecotours.
SAVE THE FROGS! has led ecotours in Belize, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Peru…and they are continuously developing amazing new ecotours around the world. The ecotours take adventurous, nature-loving people to the most biodiverse places on the planet and teach them all about wildlife and the natural world. On a SAVE THE FROGS! Ecotour, there are lots of amphibians, guest-loving locals, opportunities to connect with other SAVE THE FROGS! supporters, beautiful places to visit, great food, and unforgettable experiences.
All STF participants can search for a variety of frogs, walk hand-picked nature trails, observe wildlife on private boat cruises thru dense jungles, traverse a canopy skywalk, learn all about amphibians, tropical rainforests and environmental conservation.
Ecotourism provides dollars for local economies, and delivers a sustainable value to the families and governments. Keeping the trees yields more money than deforestation. If land or forest is not protected, it would likely get destroyed to make way for agriculture, businesses, etc. SAVE THE FROGS! ecotours support local communities that are dedicated to protecting the wildlife and the land. The tours reliably increase volunteer engagement and are a strong fulcrum where families can share their experience, authors will write about it, and students have a preview of
environmental or conservation careers.
Ecotour locations are chosen for their concentrated amphibian biodiversity and relative ease to travel to, along with stable governments.
SAVE THE FROGS! Custom Ecotours are designed for wildlife enthusiasts who want to visit amazing natural areas, find and photograph amphibians, and learn about ecology — at a time and place of their own choosing. Custom Ecotours allow your private group of friends, family and/or colleagues a fully immersive experience.
Overview
SAVE THE FROGS! is an environmental education organization and government-approved public charity. It educates and empowers people to protect amphibian populations through a variety of strategies:
Academy: SAVE THE FROGS! online courses have trained thousands of students and professionals. Additionally, there are a multitude of educational videos freely available on the SAVE THE FROGS! YouTube Channel.
Events: Save The Frogs Day is the world’s largest day of amphibian education and conservation activities. Held the last Saturday of April annually, it’s proven to be the best way to share the mission, get people actively saving frogs, get volunteers, build publicity, and to raise money for conservation efforts. Since 2009, the day has grown from 40 events in 15 countries, to 142 events in 28 countries.
The organization provides educational materials and inspiration that creates enthusiasm among volunteers, and framework for a successful event. Save The Frogs Day is an easy entry for students and teachers to become involved, and schools have been terrific supporters of having a day solely focused on amphibians.
Wetlands Creation: SAVE THE FROGS! has been actively building wetlands across the USA and Mexico. The wetlands creation sequence is repeated each time: Design, Fundraising, Materials Procurement and the Build. Some of the human-centric benefits of these wetlands projects include amphibian education for both community and volunteers, connection with other environmentally-minded people and tangible experiences before, during and after the build. The amphibians gain essential habitat and stakeholding caretakers for future generations.
US Forest Service staff and volunteers from SAVE THE FROGS! and other organizations recently built wetlands for California Red-Legged Frogs (Rana draytonii) in Tahoe National Forest over 30 consecutive days, with over 100 volunteers. SAVE THE FROGS! is currently planning to build wetlands in the southernmost range of the California Red-Legged Frogs in northwest Mexico.
Art Contest: SAVE THE FROGS! holds a global art contest that spans many countries, including Russia and China. In 2020, 51 countries and 1,468 persons participated. The contest is open to all ages, across all media, and is free to enter. This year’s contest is open now, and the cutoff for acceptance is November 1, 2021. Visit www.savethefrogs.com/art for full details.
Grants Program: SAVE THE FROGS! is providing approximately $10,000 in grants this year to amphibian projects across the US and around the globe that demonstrate a clear benefit to the conservation of amphibian populations. Projects center around research, education, policy, and/or habitat. Since 2009, SAVE THE FROGS! has disbursed $101,398 in grants, to 47 amphibian conservationists in 16 countries (Argentina, Australia, Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, Estonia, Ghana, India, Liberia, Madagascar, Mexico, Nepal, Nigeria, Paraguay, Tanzania and the USA). Annual application deadline is March 1st.
SAVE THE FROGS! Achievements
Worldwide Reach: SAVE THE FROGS! has impacted amphibian conservation efforts in 57 different countries. Volunteers have been able to start their own nonprofits and embark on their own conservation careers. Some who volunteered as kids are now going on to college and choosing conservation curriculum, or they’re volunteering while in college and they choose amphibian conservation jobs.
Education: Over three million people have been engaged via the SAVE THE FROGS! website, which offers over 1,000+ freely accessible articles, conservation action steps and tools that help individuals and organizations thrive in their direct actions.
Politics and Culture: SAVE THE FROGS! has been tremendously successful changing laws and viewpoints. A few examples include:
Co-authoring a petition that led to the federal prohibition on importation and interstate transportation of 201 salamander species, thereby reducing the likelihood of infectious disease spread.
Spearheading an effort that resulted in California Governor Jerry Brown signing his approval of a bill that made the California Red-Legged Frog the state’s official amphibian.
Construction / restoration of 29 wetlands in America, involving over a thousand volunteers.
Inspiring tens of thousands of people to sign petitions and submit letters of comment to government agencies on a variety of campaigns, including the banning of harmful pesticides; preventing mining of amphibian habitats; and listing of threatened amphibian species under state and federal endangered species acts, including a campaign, in which SAVE THE FROGS! supporters contributed over 95% of the comments received by the federal government, leading to the National Park Service removing non-native fish from over 60 water bodies in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks.
SAVE THE FROGS! Efforts Across the Globe
Ghana: In just eight years, SAVE THE FROGS! Ghana staff and volunteers have planted more than 15,000 trees to reforest habitat for critically endangered Giant Squeaker Frogs. Numerous undergraduates have been trained in amphibian biology and field techniques. Villagers have been trained in beekeeping, so they do not have to chop trees to collect wild honey. SAVE THE FROGS! Ghana campaigned for the creation of a new national park to protect the Togo Slippery Frog, which is known to survive in only two streams.
Peru: Currently, volunteers are using discarded plastic to provide breeder boxes for indigenous poison dart frogs. These are placed in tree trunks on land that a local nonprofit is managing on behalf of the local government. The frogs absolutely use them, and this will help boost their numbers in the coming years.
Efforts have also focused on Giant Junin Lake Frog conservation, under threat from agricultural runoff, polluted drainage systems, and over-harvesting. There is tremendous work being carried out via education, research and management to preserve and recover frog populations.
India: SAVE THE FROGS! India is focused on the protection of threatened amphibian species and their habitats throughout India, and the environmental education of the next generation of Indians. Since 2009, India has been one of the most active countries in the SAVE THE FROGS! worldwide community. They regularly participate in various activities for frog’s conservation, including monitoring and using visual and acoustic tools; all the efforts are improving the opportunities for frog survival in India.
Their annual Save The Frogs Day event includes seminars, a drawing competition, a quiz competition, a children’s dress-up Frog Race, a Community Awareness Rally, and a demonstration of road safety for frogs.
Bangladesh: SAVE THE FROGS! Bangladesh is dedicated to protecting Bangladesh’s amphibian populations and to promoting a society that respects and appreciates nature and wildlife. Bangladesh is home to 37 known species of amphibians, many of which are facing extreme threats due to the country’s dense human population. Habitat destruction and harmful pesticides are contributing to the decline of amphibians in Bangladesh. SAVE THE FROGS! Bangladesh was the first Asian branch of USA-based SAVE THE FROGS!, and has been active raising awareness, educating their community, and facilitating positive changes for amphibians since 2009.
SAVE THE FROGS! Vision
SAVE THE FROGS! is actively working to empower the greatest number of people to protect amphibian populations; whether they have zero experience or are a professional conservationist. SAVE THE FROGS! offers numerous opportunities to make a difference, get connected and grow.
Learn more, and consider making a donation today at: www.savethefrogs.com/donate
Dr. Kerry Kriger
Dr. Kerry Kriger is the Founder of SAVE THE FROGS! and organizer of the SAVE THE FROGS! World Summit. SAVE THE FROGS! is a worldwide movement dedicated to protecting amphibians from extinction. He has coordinated over 2,100 educational events in 57 countries.
He conceived and coordinated Save The Frogs Day, the world’s largest day of amphibian education and conservation action, raised over $1,500,000 for amphibian conservation efforts, and created the www.savethefrogs.com website.
Prior to starting SAVE THE FROGS! in 2008, he read about Earth First! and volunteered for Sea Shepherd. These organizations are structured around taking actions and making change. He didn’t know about nonprofits, or how they worked at that time, but he jumped in with both feet and founded SAVE THE FROGS!.
Since then, Dr. Kriger has shared the structure of environmental non-profit advocacy and engagement. He thanks the innumerable frog-focused volunteers across the globe in making SAVE THE FROGS! an impactful global conservation organization.
www.savethefrogs.com/costarica2021
Upcoming Ecotours:
Costa Rica:
November 2021 Classic Ecotour Open to anyone
June 2022 Families Ecotour Bring children 6+ and grandparents
July 2022 Osa Peninsula Experienced hikers
Brought to you by Toadranchreptilehabitats.com
