“Hi Dr. Kriger,
My name is Sam Richards, I’m from Westerville, Ohio. I am currently writing for our school newspaper at Westerville North High School. I heard about the Save The Frogs movement via internet and I looked into it more and I think what you’re doing is awesome! I love animals and especially amphibians so I would like to help support your movement. I was going to start off by writing a story about it in the newspaper! I would like to ask you a couple questions about the movement if that is okay.
Thanks, Sam Richards”
Sam’s questions are in green, and Dr. Kriger’s replies in black.
Rana temporaria eggs, photo courtesy Bart van Oijen
Why is saving the frogs so important?
With 7 billion humans on the planet, protecting our fragile environment is more important than ever. Frogs face many human-induced threats and are disappearing rapidly, so they need our assistance. Many of the threats the frogs face (such as habitat destruction and pollution) affect other species as well, so by making the planet a safer place for frogs, we are also helping many other species.
Common Green Frog (Pelophylax ridibundus), photo courtesy Bart van Oijen
How did you start this movement?
I educated myself about frogs by spending four years in Australia researching amphibian ecology for my Ph.D. degree. Then I had a vision of a world in which frogs and humans lived in harmony, but we were not on a path towards achieving such a state as no nonprofits existed dedicated exclusively to protecting amphibians, and few people were even aware that amphibians were in trouble. So I started SAVE THE FROGS! with my small savings and I worked diligently with complete disregard to anybody who told me SAVE THE FROGS! could not succeed. By working daily towards a goal, one is bound to succeed.
Common Green Frog (Pelophylax ridibundus), photo courtesy Bart van Oijen
What goals do you hope to achieve through this movement?
Our broad mission is to protect amphibian populations and to promote a society that respects and appreciates nature and wildlife. Some of our specific campaigns include getting frog dissections out of all USA public schools; banning the importation of non-native bullfrogs into California; banning the harmful pesticide Atrazine; protecting amphibian habitat at California’s Sharp Park and Tesla Park; creating the Atewa Hills National Park in Ghana; getting frog legs out of restaurants and supermarkets; and drastically increasing the number of students who pursue careers in environmental conservation.
Common Green Frog (Pelophylax ridibundus), photo courtesy Bart van Oijen
How can we help?
All students should visit www.savethefrogs.com/students, urge their teachers to visit www.savethefrogs.com/teachers, hold Save The Frogs Day events at their schools at the end of April, and attend our free SAVE THE FROGS! Academy online training classes.
Frog habitat near Mindo, Ecuador.