Author Archives: Susan

12/15/10

Announcing the Winners of the Frogs Are Green Kids Art Contest 2010

We’re excited to announce the winners of our first FROGS ARE GREEN art contest for kids. We received entries from around the world—each piece of art was special and we are so grateful to the kids, parents, and teachers who sent in the art. We were thrilled to see so many creative, whimsical, and thoughtful drawing and paintings of frogs and visions of a green planet. It was difficult to pick winners. Because we had so much lovely art to choose from, we had to come up with criteria for choosing our winners. Here’s how we chose the winners:

We gave preference to artwork that reflected the contest theme: It Is Easy Being Green. We also liked artwork that captured some aspect of “frogginess,” whether it was frog behavior, habitat, and so on. We also took into account the originality of the artist’s vision. That said, we were stunned by the beauty of so many pieces that didn’t necessarily fit any of these criteria.

Ages 3-6

Winner: Reagan Schwartz, 6 years old, Olney, Maryland

Winner of Frogs Are Green kids art contest 2010 - age group 3-6

Artwork by Reagan Schwartz, age 6, from Olney, Maryland, USA. Winner - age group 3-6.

We liked this drawing of a happy frog on a lily pad.

Ages 7-9

Winner: Chung Chin Hang, 9 years old, Hong Kong

Winner of the Frogs Are Green kids art contest 2010 - age group 7-9

Artwork by Chung Chin Hang, 9 yrs old, Hong Kong. Winner age group 7-9.

We liked Chung Chin Hang’s vision of how to make the world greener—clean the water and plant trees.

Honorable mention: Li Hing Fung, 8 years old, Hong Kong

Honorable mention, Frogs Are Green kids art contest 2010, Age group 7-9

Artwork by Li Hing Fung, 8 yrs old, Hong Kong, Honorable Mention, Age group 7-9.

This a beautiful painting of frogs in the rainforest.

Ages 10-12

Winner: Jason Zhu, 10 years old, Ann Arbor, Michigan

Winner of the Frogs Are Green kids art contest 2010, Michigan, USA, Age group 10-12

Artwork by Jason Zhu, 10 yrs old, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA, Winner - age group 10-12

We liked Jason’s interpretation of our contest theme. On one side the frog is sad, the world is grey, trees are cut down, and factories are spewing pollution. The other side reflects a happier, greener world.

Honorable mention: Chan Ho Kong, 11 years old, Hong Kong

Honorable mention frogs are green kids art contest age group 10-12

Artwork by Chan Ho Kong, 11 yrs old, Hong Kong, Honorable Mention, age group 10-12

We liked how this painting encourages global cooperation to help frogs and clean up the planet.

Honorable mention: Cheng Ho Fung, 11 years old, Hong Kong

Artwork by Cheng Ho Fung, 11 yrs old, Hong Kong, Honorable Mention

Artwork by Cheng Ho Fung, 11 yrs old, Hong Kong, Honorable Mention, Age group 10-12

This painting has a sophisticated design and a strong message.

THANKS TO ALL THE KIDS WHO ENTERED OUR CONTEST!

YOUR ARTWORK IS AMAZING!!!

The winners artwork will be used to create new posters for the It Is Easy Being Green campaign. The winners will also receive 2 copies of this new poster.

All other kids who entered will receive a FROGS ARE GREEN (eco-friendly) wristband (to be sent early in 2011).

12/15/10

Announcing the Winners of the 2010 Frogs Are Green Photo Contest

First off, we would like to thank all the photographers who entered the 2010 FROGS ARE GREEN photo contest. We were thrilled to receive your entries, and it was difficult to pick a winner. We hope you will continue your adventures as amphibian photographers and enter next year’s photo contest!

This year we accepted photos in two categories: frogs in the wild and backyard frogs.

FROGS IN THE WILD
WINNER: Adam Paine

Mourning Frogs in South Carolina by Adam Paine

Photo of Mourning Frogs in South Carolina by Adam Paine

We chose this photo because it is unusual and compelling.

Adam writes of the photo, “These frogs were found along the Pocotaligo River in South Carolina. It seems as if the mother frog had recently passed away from unknown causes. I had never seen this deep of an emotion showed in the Reptilian Kingdom before.”

HONORABLE MENTION: Christine Murphy

Camouflaged Toad in Josephine County, Oregon.

Photo of Camouflaged Toad in Josephine County, Oregon by Christine Murphy

We liked this well-composed photo of a handsome toad camouflaged on tree bark.

BACKYARD FROGS

WINNER: Christine Murphy

Winner of the Frogs Are Green 2010 Backyard Frogs Photo Contest

Photo by Christine Murphy in Josephine County, Oregon.

We chose this photo of a frog on a fence because of its strong composition.

HONORABLE MENTION: Theresa Walters

Singing Toad photo by Theresa Walters, Tionesta, PA. USA

Singing Toad photo by Theresa Walters, Tionesta, PA. USA - Honorable Mention

We liked this photo of a male toad serenading a female toad in a backyard pond.

Theresa writes, “I found this singing toad in my backyard pond, in Tionesta, PA, standing on an artificial water lily. He was so involved in “singing” for a female, he didn’t even know I was there!”

PRIZES:
The winners will receive a Frogs Are Green t-shirt or poster of his/her choice or we can design a special t-shirt and/or poster with your winning photo. Honorable mention photographers will receive our small Red-Eyed Tree Frog poster.

12/10/10

How Frogs and Toads Adapt To Winter's Chill

It’s mid-December and we’re inside keeping warm, while temperatures outside are below freezing (in parts of the northern hemisphere, that is). But what about our amphibian friends? How do they survive the winter? After all, they would seem vulnerable to temperature extremes with their thin skins and need to constantly stay moist.

Actually, we don’t need to worry about the frogs. They are well-equipped to deal with the cold weather, even with Arctic temperatures.

In the fall, frogs first need to find a place to make their winter home, a living space called a hibernaculum, that will protect them from weather extremes and from predators. The frog then “sleeps” away the winter by slowing down its metabolism. When spring arrives, it wakes up and leaves the hibernaculum, ready for mating and eating.

Aquatic frogs and toads such as the leopard frog and American bullfrog usually hibernate underwater. They don’t, however, dig into the mud like turtles—turtles are able to slow down their metabolism in a much more extreme way than frogs and can get by with almost no oxygen. Aquatic frogs need more oxygen—they lie just above the mud, or only partially buried in the mud, so they are near the oxygen-rich water. They may even occasionally slowly swim around.

Terrestrial frogs and toads typically hibernate on land. Those frogs and toads that are good diggers like the American toads burrow deep into the soil, safely below the frost line. Some frogs, such as the wood frog and the spring peeper, aren’t good diggers and so must scout out their winter homes in deep cracks and crevices in logs or rocks, or they might dig down into the leaf litter.

Yet these frozen frogs aren’t dead—they have a kind of natural anti-freeze in their bodies. Ice crystals form in their organs and body cavity, but a high concentration of glucose in the frog’s vital organs prevents freezing. A partially frozen frog will stop breathing: its heart will stop beating and it will seem dead. When spring approaches and their hibernaculum warms up above freezing, the frog’s frozen body will thaw, and it will come back to life.

As you go about your holiday, all bundled up for the cold, think of the frogs with their amazing adaptations for survival, safe in their winter homes, waiting for spring.

Here’s a video from YouTube about the hibernation of a wood frog. It’s pretty amazing—take a look!

Most of the information from this post came from an article in Scientific American, How Do Frogs Survive the Winter? Why Don’t They Freeze to Death? by Rick Emmer.

12/4/10

Burned Forests Threaten the Frogs of Madagascar – Guest Post, Franco Andreone

We are so pleased that Franco Andreone, Associate Curator of Zoology, Responsible for Herpetological and Ichthyological Collections, Museo Regionale di Scienze Naturali, Torino, Italy, offered to write a guest post for Frogs Are Green about his recent visit to Madagascar and what he encountered there—the possible extinction of  frogs species due to the destruction of its forests.

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In October, I visited the Ankaratra, a massif next to Madagascar’s capital Antananarivo, for a quick trip in an attempt to see two of the most threatened (maybe “the most threatened”) frog species of Madagascar: Boophis williamsii and Mantidactylus pauliani.

They are both CR species and live in an area that is not yet protected and has been heavily altered. For some time, on behalf of the Amphibian Specialist Group (ASG), we have advocated the need for protecting this area. To this end, a project has been set up with the help of Conservation International and the collaboration of many colleagues, with the aim of securing the area, which is also very important because it is a draining basin for potable water for the city of Ambatolampy. Through the ASG it was also possible to get a MacArthur grant that will be helpful for any further action.

Some people, notably from the Langaha Association and Madagasikara Voakajy, have begun work on the species, along with other herp species (i.e. Furcifer campani); they have collected data on both B. williamsii and M. pauliani. The two species appear VERY localised, with no more than three spots where they have been found. M. pauliani appeared a little bit more common, but we observed less than ten B. williamsii individuals.

I was already concerned about the threats to these species and their habitat. The bad news is that during the rapid survey we did (a few hours visit), we noticed that almost ALL the exotic forest was burned. This forest, composed mainly of pines, assured a certain naturalness to the area, and prevented erosion. Now, following the voluntary burning events of last July, almost all the forest has been “transformed” into charcoal. This will have serious and terrible consequences for the human populations, especially for the availability of drinking water. Most likely, during the next rainy season there will be accelerated erosion and the water will become heavily polluted. Clearly the amphibian populations will be tragically affected as well. Although one of the sites is still within a small parcel of “natural” forest, the burned trees are all around, and at the other sites the fire event has destroyed the small residual (ferns, grass) vegetation that likely assured the survival of the species.

During the visit we found some B. williamsii, but we really wonder what the effect of the next rains will be. The tadpoles need clear and clean water, and if the water is polluted by erosion, they will most likely die.

Furthermore, there really is a risk that the species will be driven to extinction within a short time.

Boophis williamsii courtesy of Franco Andreone

Boophis williamsii tadpole courtesy of Franco Andreone

Habitat Ankaratra courtesy of Franco Andreone

Mantidactylus pauliani courtesy of Franco Andreone

For more information, please visit my website:  www.francoandreone.it

12/1/10

Become a Frog Listener and Help Save Your State's Frogs

In many parts of the country, frogs and toads have begun their hibernation, and we humans, too, are hibernating for the winter—at least in parts of the northern hemisphere. This is a good time, however, to hone your frog listening skills and to think about volunteering as a frog listener for the North American Amphibian Monitoring Program, (NAAMP) a nationwide program of the U.S. Geological Survey that studies the distribution and relative abundance of amphibians in North America. The data collected from frog listeners across the country is analyzed for patterns of amphibian stability or decline on local, regional, and national levels.

Several states are participating in this study. Georgia’s Department of Natural Resources, for example, has participated in NAAMP, since 2008. In Georgia as elsewhere, frogs serve as indicators of environmental change: the data collected by volunteers helps monitor habitat change or loss of wetlands.

In Georgia, volunteers are asked to drive a predetermined route (or routes), stopping for five minutes to listen for and report frog species and their relative abundance at 10 established wetland stops. They visit these local listening routes three times a year.

Frog listening not only helps frogs, it helps the participants, too. Listening to the frog calls, according to Sarah Barlow, a NAAMP participant, is not only relaxing and enjoyable, it also builds “a greater appreciation of being in the woods.” (Quoted in an online article Frog Listener Volunteers Answer Call To Help Survey Frogs Across Georgia.)

Before becoming a frog listener, you must first take the U.S. Geological Survey quiz and be able to idenfity 65 percent of the frogs in your state. Even if you don’t want to become a frog listener, it’s fun to take the quiz to test your knowledge of the calls of frogs in your state.

So in addition to holiday music, why not plan to listen to some other choruses—frog choruses—in preparation for spring. If you live in Georgia, you don’t have to wait that long. The first listening window next year opens January 15.

Here’s one frog from Georgia with a distinctive call, the Green Frog (Rana clamitans)

11/24/10

GREEN FRIDAY – Frog Gifts for the Holidays

Although this Friday is Black Friday, we’d like to offer an alternative: GREEN FRIDAY—a day to order some wonderful frog gifts online—no pushing and shoving at the big box stores requiredl!  Enjoy!

FROG BOOK

Frog by Thomas Marent

Frog by nature photographer Thomas Marent features over 400 truly stunning images of frogs and other amphibians. A beautifully designed and produced book (published by DK), Frog is guaranteed to turn anyone into a frog enthusiast.

FROG PUZZLE

For kids ages 9-12 (and for puzzle-loving adults) here’s a good project for a winter’s day—a 300-piece Ravensburger puzzle of colorful poison dart frogs.

FROG CALENDAR

A gorgeous mini-calendar for frog lovers.

ADOPT A FROG

Adopting a frog or other animal from the World Wildlife Fund is a great gift for a child or an adult who cares about animals.

For a $50 adoption, you will receive:

  • plush frog
  • adoption certificate
  • full-color photo of a red-eyed tree frog
  • spotlight card full of fascinating information about your frog

Ipad/Ipod Apps

If you’re planning to buy your loved one a new ipod or ipad, why not fill it with a few frog or amphibian apps! Refer to our recent post on apps.

screenshot from the FROGS! app

SAVE THE FROGS totebag:

Forget plastic bags. Do your shopping with this cool eco-friendly Save the Frogs totebag and help support a great amphibian conservation organization.

PLUSH FROG

Here’s a cute frog to cuddle with: Ty Pluffies Pond Frog

CLOTHES FOR KIDS and ADULTS

Frogs Are Green Tees

Send a positive eco-message with our It Is Easy to be Green T-shirt with art by internationally renowned illustrator Paul Zwolak. Available in kids and adult sizes. (Proceeds go to amphibian conservation organizations.)

FROG SLIPPERS

We’re not sure we can resist buying these cozy frog slippers for the women in our lives.

FROG GIFTS FOR BABY

Happy Blankies

When you buy a blanket from Happy Blankie, one is also donated to a child in need. The blankies, available in different sizes, are made with luxuriously plush “minky” dot fabric, trimmed and back with silky, charmeuse satin.

ANGEL DEAR PILLOWS, BLANKETS, AND ACCESSORIES FOR BABY

Angel dear features cashmere-soft baby blankets, rattles, clothes etc. I have the frog pillow below, which has been adopted by our new “baby” (an 8-month-old kitten) as her preferred place to nap. It is unbelievably soft and cuddly!

Frogs Are Green Onesie

Let the youngest member of your family spread the word about our amphibian friends with a Frogs Are Green Onesie. (Proceeds go to amphibian conservation organizations.)

POSTERS

This year at Frogs Are Green a couple of amazing artists have donate their work to help our cause.

Children’s book illustrator Sherry Neidigh donated her art for this lovely poster—A Frog’s Dream: Save Our Home. (Proceeds go to amphibian conservation organizations.)

Paul Zwolak donated his art for this poster —It Is Easy Being Green. (Proceeds go to amphibian conservation organizations.)


STOCKING STUFFERS

Frog key chain

My husband gave me this frog key chain, which has a button activated bright LED light and makes “Ribbet” sounds. Occasionally I bump my purse and my keychain starts ribbeting, and I enjoy seeing people’s reactions!