Save The Frogs Day - April 30th, 2010
The 2nd Annual Save The Frogs Day (April 30th, 2010) was the largest day of amphibian education and conservation action in the planet's history, with 104 known events in 21 countries. Save The Frogs Day events took place in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, India, Italy, Ireland, Madagascar, Nepal, New Zealand, Portugal, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the USA. Thanks to all who took part!
The 3rd Annual Save The Frogs Day will be Friday April 29, 2011!
Teachers | Students
| Scientists | Musicians | Businesses
Zoos, Museums, and Aquariums | Events | Posters
Spread The Word | Save The Frogs Day Official Declaration
Sponsors |
Partners | Frequently Asked Questions
"This is truly an amazing resource for teachers and students. Thanks so much." -- Pam Chergotis, Managing Editor of The Chronicle.
Introduction
In an effort to raise awareness of the plight of amphibians, the scientific community has declared Friday April 30th, 2010 the 2nd Annual 'Save The Frogs Day'. On this day we encourage the appreciation and celebration of amphibians by people from all walks of life.
Please get involved and help spread the word! Only a small proportion of our public is aware that frogs are disappearing, and amphibian conservation efforts will not be successful with an un-informed public. Our goal is to make the amphibian extinction crisis common knowledge by Save The Frogs Day: help make it happen!
Save The Frogs Day 2010 is a de-centralized event: that means it's up to you to make something happen in your part of the universe. The frogs are depending on you. Your children and their children are depending on you. The future of the planet lies in your hands and in your actions. SAVE THE FROGS!
Your Official Guide to Save The Frogs Day 2010!
Please download your Official Guide to Save The Frogs Day 2010, and forward it on to all your friends!
This guide was published as our April 2010 Members Newsletter. If you enjoy reading it, please support our worldwide amphibian conservation efforts by becoming an Official Member of SAVE THE FROGS! -- all members get a free 12-month subscription to the newsletter! Thanks to SAVE THE FROGS! Graphic Design Volunteer Barbara Flaherty for her invaluable assistance!
Save The Frogs Day - Martha Stewart Sirius/XM Radio
SAVE THE FROGS! Founder Dr. Kerry Kriger will be on Martha Stewart Living Radio (Sirius 112/XM 157) this Save The Frogs Day (Friday April 30th) at 4:30pm US Eastern Time (1:30 PST). Maggie Mistal, host of “Making a Living with Maggie" will interview Dr. Kriger about ways to focus one's career on a cause or passion. Maggie is a career coach whom CNN has called one of the nation's best known career coaches.
World Map of Save The Frogs Day Events
Just click and zoom to get more information on any event! There are actually twice as many events taking place as shown on the map, we just can't keep up with them as registrations have been coming in so fast the last 48 hours! There were 85 registered events in 22 countries -- and an untold number of unregistered events!
Thanks to Dave Urbanic of Zoomify for making the zoomable map!
The Official Poster of Save The Frogs Day 2010
In commemoration of the 2nd Annual Save The Frogs Day, we present this limited edition 18x24" print featuring amazing vector art by graphic design extraordinaire Matthew Bryan of the United Kingdom. Frog posters don't get much cooler than this one! All proceeds go to Save The Frogs' worldwide conservation efforts, so please order one now and help spread the word!
Teachers
Save The Frogs Day is a perfect time for teachers and students to learn about amphibian extinctions and discuss ways that we can all contribute to amphibian conservation efforts. Please get your students involved in Save The Frogs Day activities, and be creative!
If you have any type of frog-related class or event planned, please be sure to REGISTER YOUR EVENT.
Let us know if you have any interesting lesson plans we should add to this page, and please add your thoughts to the Teachers section of the FrogForum. Inform your fellow teachers of the day, and be sure to check out the Teachers For Frogs page for more ideas.
General Lesson Plan
The key points that all teachers should mention in their classes this Save The Frogs Day are:
(1) Frogs are the most threatened group of animals on the planet, and are rapidly going extinct. Nearly one-third of the world's 6,644 amphibian species are in danger of extinction and up to 200 species have completely disappeared in the last 30 years.
(2) Frogs are important to the ecosystem and to humans. See our Why Frogs page for more information.
(3) The primary threats to frogs are habitat destruction; pollution and pesticides; climate change; infectious diseases spread by human activity; over-harvesting for the pet and food trades; and invasive species such as introduced trout, crayfish and non-native amphibians.
(4) Students can help save frogs. Please visit our How to Help page for more information.
All participating classes should make a Save The Frogs Day banner, and then email us a picture of all the students holding up the banner. We will be making a collection of all these photographs from around the world. Then hang the banner in your school as a permanent reminder of Save The Frogs Day and as a call to action for all of the school's students.
Need a PowerPoint?
We have several PowerPoint presentations you can download or embed on your webpage. Have a look.
Art Teachers
Get your class involved in the 2nd Annual Frog Art Contest. There are cash prizes and students really enjoy this!
English & Writing Teachers
Get your class involved in the 2nd Annual Frog Poetry Contest and/or the 1st Annual SAVE THE FROGS! Essay Contest. Have each student write a Letter to the Editor of a local, state or national paper or magazine, discussing frog extinctions and Save The Frogs Day.
Biology Teachers
Discuss frog biology, natural history, reasons for the current mass extinction crisis and what can be done about it. Have your students investigate and write a short summary of the amphibian species in the area. Take a field trip to search for tadpoles. If you have permits/permission, you may want to collect some NATIVE tadpoles and begin raising them with your class on Save The Frogs Day, to be released at the pond from which they were collected at a later date (be sure someone can care for them until that point!). Perform a virtual frog dissection using computer software.
Does your school have a policy on dissections? The trade and transport of frogs for dissections is a likely contributor to the spread of infectious diseases, and in some regions contributes to the depletion of wild frog populations. Have your students write up an official statement requesting the school Principal or Board of Supervisors allow only virtual frog dissections in their school district.
Film Teachers
Have your students film any of the other Save The Frogs Day events happening at your school. Then have them upload their Save The Frogs Day videos to YouTube, to get the word out about amphibian extinctions and SAVE THE FROGS!. Or make some short videos on amphibian extinctions. And please send us your school's best video!
Philosophy and Ethics Teachers
Have your classes discuss the ethical implications of amphibian extinctions.
History Teachers
Discuss the history of the environmental movement.
Math Teachers
Use frogs in all your example problems; e.g. If 1% of the 100 million amphibians that are transported around the world for use as food, pets, bait, and lab subjects each year are infected with chytrid fungus, and 1% of these infected frogs are set free, escape into the wild, or have the water in which they were held set loose into the environment, and 1% of the native populations that are exposed are driven to extinction, how many amphibian populations likely succumb to chytrid each year? Now make it 5%, 10%, etc. Then have them read this paper (at least the abstract!).
Music Teachers
Set up a Battle of the Bands benefit concert at your school that day. Have the winning band take half the earnings, and donate the other half to SAVE THE FROGS!. Write frog songs, videotape them and YouTube them.
Physical Education Teachers
Frog jump contests. Need we say more?
Hold a fundraiser
Please have your students hold a fundraiser for SAVE THE FROGS' amphibian conservation efforts. Students will learn valuable business skills, feel good about their accomplishments, and help Save The Frogs do what we do best: SAVE THE FROGS! We'll soon have peer to peer fundraising pages you can use. In the meantime, have the students do it the old-fashioned way: donation jars, bake sales, talking to parents and local businesses, school dance, etc...
Give them some reading material
Have your students read The Story of SAVE THE FROGS! and surf the savethefrogs.com website.
Watch a video
Watch Allison Argo's excellent documentary The Thin Green Line. You can order the DVD here.
Design signs for local waterbodies
Is there a local waterbody in your town that has amphibians? Probably. Here is a great group project: have the students design educational signage to place at the waterbodies of local parks. The signs should include the name of the waterbody; pictures and/or drawings of the amphibians found there (the park administer likely has this info), as well as a few lines about each species; a few lines describing the amphibian extinction crisis, the importance of amphibians, and ways people can help; and finally, be sure to mention that the sign was created by the students of your school in celebration of this year's Save The Frogs Day. Then have the students contact the local government and have their sign turned into a reality!
Build a frog pond behind your school
What better way to get kids interested in frogs than to have them build a frog pond behind their school on Save The Frogs Day? Their efforts will be rewarded when they see the first clutch of eggs in the pond, and when the first tadpoles metamorphose and crawl out of the pond! The Sage website has some great pond building tips, and so does TreeWalker's Operation Frog Pond page.
Get politically active!
All participating classes should have students write, sign and address a letter to their Governor or one of their Congressmen, stating:
(A) Frogs are rapidly disappearing worldwide;
(B) They took part in Save The Frogs Day activities;
(C) At least one reason frogs are important; and
(D) At least one step the politician should take to help frog populations.
Don't worry, we'll be adding a form letter to this page that will make the letter-writing easy! You just have to provide your students with the names and addresses of the relevant politician(s), and then collect and mail the letters. Finally, be sure to report back to us and let us know how many letters you sent!
Have your students get the word out
Our Spread The Word page has informational flyers you and your students can post around school and town. Or have the students create their own webpage about Save The Frogs Day and amphibian extinctions.
Looking forward - submit a grant proposal
Why not plan out your next year's course of action now? Classroom Earth lists a variety of funding opportunities for students and teachers. Have the class agree on a frog conservation project for the upcoming year (this should be done with input from the teacher one grade above you!). Then have them submit a funding request. Let us know about your success!
All teachers please do this...
Whatever you decide to do, please be sure to have fun, and please REGISTER YOUR EVENT!
Students
It's up to you to get your school saving the frogs this Save The Frogs Day! You can start by telling your teachers about Save The Frogs Day and referring them to this page.
Kindergarten through 8th grader: Please print this flyer and deliver it to your teachers.
High school and university students: Please look through this PDF.
Ask your teachers for permission to set up a SAVE THE FROGS! informational table in the school hallway this April 30th. We can provide you with informational flyers to hand out, and you can help raise money for SAVE THE FROGS!. Be sure to contact us if you are able to set up a table.
Have a school newspaper? If so, you can write a short article for the paper announcing Save The Frogs Day. Get your classes involved in the Frog Art Contest, the Frog Poetry Contest and the Frog Essay Contest. Give a 5-minute talk on frog extinctions to your class (ask your teacher permission well in advance and they will likely grant you permission). If you are a university student, see if you can give a frog presentation to K-12 students at a local school. If you are a K-12 student, see if you can give a short presentation on frogs to students a grade or two below you. Have a look at our Spread The Word page, our Students for Frogs page, and add your thoughts to the Students section of the FrogForum. Also, read through the Teachers section on this page.
Whatever you decide to do, please be sure to Register Your Event. And have fun!
Scientists
It is our duty as scientists to protect amphibian populations, and this will not be possible unless we rapidly and successfully educate the public about the amphibian extinction crisis.
Can you devote a few hours on April 30th towards educating the public about the amphibian extinction crisis?
Please help us make Save The Frogs Day a huge success by giving a public lecture on amphibians at a local school, museum, zoo, aquarium or community group on April 30th, 2010 (or any time in that general timeframe). It's great publicity, its a great way to spread the word about amphibian declines, and it is guaranteed to get students interested in batrachology and environmental conservation. Feel free to use one of our freely downloadable PowerPoint presentations. And be sure to register your event! We need to track what is happening!
An incredibly small proportion of the public is aware that amphibians are in trouble, and we all have a vested interest in changing this unfortunate situation:
(1) An environmentally conscious society attempts to care for versus destroy the environment, and thus by educating the public regarding environmental issues we will help to ensure that our current hard work will not be laid to waste by the environmentally-destructive actions of future generations.
(2) Increasing students’ interest in batrachology will mean a larger pool of potential graduate students for you to choose from, and thus higher quality researchers working in your lab.
(3) Issues that are engrained in the public’s consciousness receive more monetary funding from governments, private foundations, and average citizens, and we all depend on this financial support.
If you are affiliated with a herpetological society, please have your group send a Save The Frogs Day announcement to all of its members. Add the Save The Frogs Day icon at the top of this page to your personal or professional website and that of your society. Post the Save The Frogs Day flyer up at your place of work. Have your motivated students contact us about volunteer opportunities.
Businesses
Your business can help SAVE THE FROGS! Whether its becoming an official sponsor of Save The Frogs Day, or holding a Save The Fogs Day sale and offering a portion of the proceeds to SAVE THE FROGS, our Businesses For Frogs page has lots of ideas on how your business can take part in Save The Frogs Day activities. Be creative: helping the frogs can be serve as valuable positive PR for your company!
Events
We are currently working on placing a map on this page that will have a pinpoint linked to information on every event taking place on Sae The Frogs Day. Stay tuned, and make sure you register your event!
Frog Legs Protests at Uncle Julio's Restaurants
Uncle Julio's Rio Grande is a chain of 16 upscale Mexican food restaurants located throughout TX, VA, MD, FL, IL and GA. Uncle Julio's Rio Grande restaurants sell American Bullfrogs farm-raised in China. These bullfrogs are regularly infected with the deadly chytrid fungus, and are harmful invasive species that eat native frogs. Thus Uncle Julio's Rio Grande restaurants are engaging in ecologically destructive trade practices.
As Uncle Julio's corporate headquarters has refused to reply to our emails, voice mails or our three Federal Express letters to them, Save The Frogs supporters will be holding peaceful (but highly visible!) protests in front of their restaurants this Save The Frogs Day, and indefinitely into the future until they remove frog legs from their menus. These will be the first protests to protect frog populations in the planet's history. Join us and take action!
Learn about the problems associated with frog legs.
Learn about Uncle Julio's horrible environmental track record.
Send Uncle Julio's CEO this letter.
Take part in the protests, or help us promote them!
Live Lectures
Batrachologists worldwide will be giving live presentations on frogs and frog extinctions at local schools, museums, zoos and community groups. Talks on the 1st Annual Save The Frogs Day took place in the USA, Canada, Italy, China, India, Croatia, Australia, Colombia, South Africa, Bangladesh, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Nepal, Portugal, Switzerland, Madagascar...and this year will be more extensive. We'll soon post a list of all lectures locations and times.
Party For The Frogs!
Fundraising house parties and office parties are great ways to celebrate Save The Frogs Day. Not only are they an excellent method of raising funds for Save The Frogs' worldwide amphibian conservation efforts, they also spread the word and educate people about amphibian extinctions. Plus, fundraising parties are a fun way to catch up with friends. And they aren't very hard to set up. Here's how to have a successful party!
SAVE THE FROGS! 2nd Annual Frog Art Contest
We encourage all art teachers to get their classes involved in the 2nd Annual Frog Art Contest this Save The Frogs Day.
SAVE THE FROGS! 2nd Annual Frog Poetry Contest
Looking for a great way to get your English or Writing class involved in Save The Frogs Day activities? Please have them take part in the 2nd Annual Frog Poetry Contest. There are cash prizes!
Benefit Concerts
If you are a concert promoter, band manager, or if you are a musician, you are in a perfect position to help SAVE THE FROGS!. If you already have a gig scheduled on April 30th, perfect...make it a Save The Frogs Day benefit concert! Benefit concerts are one of the best ways to raise money for frog conservation and promote awareness of frog extinctions (not to mention have a good time!). Plus the concert will provide your band with excellent positive publicity!
If you set up a Save The Frogs Day Benefit Concert, we'll list it in the Events section of this page. We can provide educational materials for you to distribute, or we may be able to host a SAVE THE FROGS! informational table at the venue. Please see our Musicians for Frogs page and contact us for more information. Rock out for the frogs!
Spread The Word
We need Save The Frogs Day to be more popular than Thanksgiving!!! Please do your part:
(1) Email your friends and tell them that Save The Frogs Day is April 30th, 2010: http://savethefrogs.com/day
(2) Put a note up on your website and add a link to this page. Use the Save The Frogs Day icon at the top of this page, or the one right here-->
(3) If you use Facebook, Myspace or Twitter, make the icon to your right your profile picture. Just right click and choose "Save Picture As".
(4) Please see our Spread The Word page and be creative!
(5) You probably email 100+ people per week. Please make an automated signature for your email. Just go to your mail options or settings and there should be a place to set up the automated signature. Have it say this:
Save The Frogs Day - April 30th, 2010
www.savethefrogs.com/day
(6) Put this flyer up at your school, workplace, or anywhere else. Just left-click on the flyer and a PDF will open in a separate window. Try to print them in color if possible!
(7) Create an Event Notice: Most newspapers have a website on which you can post event notices. Something as simple as this can drive a lot of traffic to this page:
"April 30th, 2010 - Save the Frogs Day - Aims to raise awareness about the disappearance of frogs.
Official Declaration of Save The Frogs Day
We would like to thank Mayor Mike Rotkin of Santa Cruz, California for legally recognizing the 2nd Annual Save The Frogs Day (April 30th, 2010). Mayor Rotkin will join SAVE THE FROGS! Founder Dr. Kerry Kriger on the morning of Save The Frogs Day as Dr. Kriger introduces a local elementary school’s students to the Wild World of Frogs. The Mayor will help Dr. Kriger and the kids recreate the night-time sounds of the Australian rainforest.
You can click on the image below to get an 8.5x11" PDF. Feel free to post one in your school or office!
We would like to thank Governor Tim Kaine of Virginia for officially recognizing the the 1st Annual Save The Frogs Day (April 28th, 2009). We also thank Mayor Gregor Robertson of Vancouver, British Columbia who has declared April 28th, 2009 Save The Frogs Day in Vancouver; and Chairman Corey Stewart who declared April 28th, 2009 as Save The Frogs Day in Prince William County, VA; and Mayor Harry Parrish who declared April 28th, 2009 as Save The Frogs Day in Manassas, VA.
By virtue of the authority vested by the Constitution in the Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, there is hereby officially recognized:
SAVE THE FROGS DAY
WHEREAS, amphibians are in considerable peril here in Virginia, and nearly one-third of the world’s 6,468 amphibian species are threatened with extinction and at least 150 species have completely disappeared since 1979, and thus amphibians are the most threatened group of animals on Earth; and
WHEREAS, amphibians are critical components to our ecosystems, especially the Green Tree Frog (Hyla cinerea) in the Commonwealth of Virginia, and because amphibians provide ecosystem services to nature and to humans including (1) cleaning waterways by eating algae during their tadpole stage; (2) serving as a vital source of food to dragonflies, birds, fish, and reptiles, (3) consuming large quantities of ticks, mosquitoes and other pest species that serve as disease vectors that can transmit fatal illnesses to humans; and
WHEREAS,approximately 10% of Nobel prizes in physiology and medicine have resulted from investigations that used amphibians, and because when an amphibian species disappears, so does any promise it holds for improving human medicine; and
WHEREAS, amphibians face a multitude of threats including pollution, pesticides, habitat destruction, climate change, invasive species, infectious diseases (the spread of which are facilitated by human activities), and over-harvesting for the pet, food and bait trades; and
WHEREAS, we believe in the right of children to see, hear and catch amphibians in their native habitat, and amphibian conservation efforts will not be successful without an educated and informed public;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, Timothy M. Kaine do hereby recognize April 28th, 2009 as SAVE THE FROGS DAY in the COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA, and I call this observance to the attention of all our citizens.
Help get Save The Frogs Day recognized in your state
Please left-click on the picture below to get a PDF of a petition sheet you can print out and use to collect signatures, which we will send in when we ask your governor/mayor to legally recognize Save The Frogs Day. These signatures will help convey to your politicians the importance of amphibian conservation. Further, by collecting these signatures, you'll be spreading the word every time you talk to someone about Save The Frogs Day.
Sponsors
Great thanks to the Official Sponsors of Save The Frogs Day 2010!
Red Droid Software
Digital Frog International
If your business or organization would like to be an Official Sponsor of Save The Frogs Day, please contact us. Your support will be invaluable to the success of Save The Frogs Day, and we will see to it that you get the positive publicity you deserve!
Partners
Thanks to our partners for promoting Save The Frogs Day and amphibian conservation in their region of the world!
National Wildlife Federation
International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development
Miss Earth South Africa
If your organization would like to partner with Save The Frogs, please contact us!
The Greatest Story Ever Toad
Read James Wolcott's article on Save The Frogs Day that appeared in Vanity Fair April 22nd, 2010.
The Story of Save The Frogs Day
Read Jeremy Hance's interview with SAVE THE FROGS! Founder Dr. Kerry Kriger, who conceived Save The Frogs Day one cold December night in 2008. The article appeared in Mongabay on the 1st Annual Save The Frogs Day, April 28th, 2009.
The 3rd Annual Save The Frogs Day: April 29th, 2011
Mark your calendars! The 3rd Annual Save The Frogs Day will be Friday, April 29th, 2011. Remember that Save The Frogs Day will (almost) always fall on the last Friday of April.
Please donate to help SAVE THE FROGS!
Your tax-deductible contribution will prevent amphibian extinctions through environmental education, scientific research, legal defense, and through the acquisition of critical amphibian habitat.
Thanks for your support...Together we can SAVE THE FROGS!
Website design, photos & content by Kerry Kriger unless otherwise noted.
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