On 24th April 2015, SAVE THE FROGS! Ghana (hereafter STF! Ghana) will be celebrating this year’s Save The Frogs Day, the world’s largest day of amphibian education and conservation action in Northern Ghana’s Chiana. Campaigning within this locality on the theme “Frogs on Roads (FOOR),” we will raise public awareness about widespread frog deaths caused by road users. Activities have therefore, been planned to raise awareness and educate the public on preventive measures to reduce amphibian roadkills. Preceding the day will be a 30 minutes discussion on Nabiina Radio, the district FM station which broadcasts to +2,000 local people, about the plight of frogs to roadkills and what can be done to reduce it. There will be a phone-in section where staff of STF! Ghana will get interactive with the public. Through this broadcast, we will also invite people to the major events planned for Save The Frogs Day including, “Racing for Frogs,” a 11km bicycle racing competition and a street parade with local people holding placards to raise awareness about the indiscriminate killing of frogs by road users. Some inscriptions on the placards will read “IF YOU CAN’T SEE WHAT IS ON THE ROAD, SLOWDOWN”; “WATCH OUT FOR ME ON RAINY DAYS”; “DON’T RUN ME OVER WHEN YOU SEE ME ON THE ROAD”; “RESCUE ME WHEN I GET TRAPPED ON THE ROAD”; “I LOVE PUDDLES BUT NOT WHEN THEY ARE ON THE ROAD,” “PATCH THAT POTHOLE BEFORE I CONFUSE IT FOR MY HABITAT” e.t.c.
We will also visit our vibrant SAVE THE FROGS! Ghana football team, to retool it with sports and educational materials. A courtesy call will be paid to the paramount chief and the elders of the traditional area to thank them for their support for STF! Ghana and also inform them of planned projects for the community. The day will finally be crowned with a speech and the presentation of awards to race winners by the Associate Executive Director of STF! Ghana, Sandra Owusu-Gyamfi.
This campaign is necessary as many roads in Ghana are plagued with puddles and potholes which amphibians frequently use as temporary habitats, increasing their risk to roadkills. In addition, many die on the roads during their natal migration to breeding sites. Unfortunately, the general lack of awareness among Ghanaians to this development make amphibians even more vulnerable to roadkill.
Thanks to The Rufford Foundation and SAVE THE FROGS! for supporting this day!!
