Introduction
The inaugural Save The Frogs Day took place on Tuesday, April 28th, 2009, making Save The Frogs Day the world’s oldest annually observed amphibian conservation themed event.
Save The Frogs Day currently takes place April 28th Every Year…but that was not always the case. For many years, the event was held annually on the Last Saturday Of April.
Save The Frogs Day has been so successful that it has inspired other annually observed events that seek to raise amphibian awareness, including World Frog Day and Amphibian Week.
This article discusses how the Save The Frogs Day event dates were chosen and clarifies the historical record related to annually observed amphibian celebrations.
Proof of Save The Frogs Day’s History
This archived webpage dated May 5th, 2009 on Archive.org provides a permanent snapshot of the SAVE THE FROGS! website as it existed immediately after the inaugural Save The Frogs Day. You can read about Save The Frogs Day on this Edge Of Existence webpage published March 17th, 2009.
Since 2009, Save The Frogs Day has been officially recognized by the governors and state legislatures of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Michigan, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, as well as the Mayors of Washington DC, Vancouver, Santa Cruz and Tampa, and an array of other frog-friendly politicians. View numerous Save The Frogs Day proclamations here.
If you can find any annually observed amphibian conservation event that is older than Save The Frogs Day, please contact us! We love historical information based on facts.
Why Save The Frogs Day Takes Place In April
We chose the month of April because it is traditionally associated with nature, springtime renewal and ecological enthusiasm; and because frogs are active then in both the tropics and the northern hemisphere (where most of our supporters reside). We decided on the end of April so as to have warmer weather and to leverage the momentum of Earth Day, which takes place April 22nd each year.
Feel free to share this image!
Day Of The Week
The day of the week has been a more complex decision. Over the years, in our quest to accommodate various global activities—from school engagements on weekdays to festivals on weekends and easy ways for 9 to 5 working adults to take place—we have experimented with different days of the week. Our commitment has always been to maximize participation and impact.
For many years we celebrated Save The Frogs Day on the last Saturday of April, as weekend events were getting high turnout. However, this made school events trickier and also it became clear that the date of the event each year was unnecessarily difficult to communicate.
As such, in 2023 we made a thoughtful change to return to our roots and celebrate Save The Frogs Day on April 28th Every Year. Setting a fixed date eliminates confusion and ensures our message spreads consistently and accurately, both within our organization and across the broader community. This will enhance our marketing strategies, making it simpler for supporters, partners, and the media to plan and promote activities well in advance. We believe that a specific date will strengthen our global efforts to protect amphibian populations, making it easier for everyone to contribute to our cause.
By anchoring Save The Frogs Day on April 28th Every Year, we honor our origins while adapting to the needs of our growing community and the amphibians we strive to protect.
The 5th Annual Save The Frogs Day, celebrated in Nepal, April 27, 2013
A Brief History of Save The Frogs Day
This YouTube video features SAVE THE FROGS! Founder Dr. Kerry Kriger discussing the most important Save The Frogs Day events that had taken place up to the time of its recording on the 6th Annual Save The Frogs Day (April 26th, 2014).
Dr. Kriger conceived Save The Frogs Day one cold December night in Budapest, Hungary in 2008, and has coordinated the worldwide Save The Frogs Day events ever since. In this video, he provides an insightful overview of Save The Frogs Day, its purpose, historical events, and the significant growth of the movement since its inception in 2009.
The webinar highlights various global events, educational initiatives, and extensive community engagement aimed at amphibian conservation. The session concludes with future plans and a call to action for increased participation and support for upcoming Save The Frogs Day events, underscoring the continued need for community involvement and financial support to further amphibian conservation efforts globally.
Conflicts & Error Resolution
We understand that your schedule may not always allow for an event precisely on April 28th. Since the most important thing is that you take action for amphibians, we encourage you to celebrate on whatever day best fits your schedule that is close to the 28th (ideally in the week prior).
If you see any websites showing incorrect Save The Frogs Day dates, please refer them to this page and ask them to list the correct event date; or email us the URL that holds the incorrect info and we can contact them.
If you have any old printed materials that state anything other than April 28th Every Year, you can either recycle them or simply chop off the incorrect portion and use the educational portions that remain.
Photo exhibit in Nayarit, Mexico, Save The Frogs Day 2014
Other Annual Amphibian Celebrations
Note that there are other annual amphibian celebrations (almost certainly inspired by the success of Save The Frogs Day) that have been created in recent years, after the advent of Save The Frogs Day, the most relevant being:
(1) World Frog Day (March 20th, read its history here); and
(2) Amphibian Week (the first full week of May beginning on a Sunday, every year since 2020 in its current form, but actually started by a SAVE THE FROGS! Mexico volunteer in 2011).
A similar sounding day with a very different purpose is American Frog Day, begun in 1995 as a way to connect buyers and sellers of Dendrobatid frogs.
Furthermore, since COVID, an array of erroneous social media posts have been published using cool, but incorrect names for Save The Frogs Day, including National Frog Day, Frog Awareness Day, International Day Of Amphibian Conservation (Día Internacional para Conservation de Anfibios), Día Mundial de las Ranas, etc., especially in Spanish and Portuguese social media posts.
While well-intentioned, these posts contribute to confusion; as such, we encourage you to politely correct anyone posting near the end of April using names other than Save The Frogs Day. Alternatively, simply tag @savethefrogs in the comments section of their post, which helps their followers find SAVE THE FROGS! and enables us to reach out to the person or organization requesting their assistance in correcting their post.
Save The Frogs Day 2014 celebrations organized by Dr. Izabela Barata in Minas Gerais, Brazil.
Perplexity Says…
Below you can see the results of our Perplexity thread on the topic of Save The Frogs Day’s history:
Conclusion
We thank you for your participation and interest in Save The Frogs Day, and hope you have a fabulous time on April 28th Every Year! ?
Save The Frogs Day 2014 in the mountains above Santa Marta, Colombia with students of Beto Rueda.
Paul from North Shore Wetland Partners educating kids about amphibians, Save The Frogs Day 2014. “The SAVE THE FROGS! flag flew proudly in west Vancouver this weekend.”
The photo atop this page is from Bangladesh, Sabit Hasan’s submission to the 2023 SAVE THE FROGS! Photo Contest.
