Guest blog by Eric Suen and Kevin Liang, Aqua Design Innovations
We could all use a piece of nature that we can enjoy or escape to everyday.
The problem is that most aquariums that we put in our homes are not sustainable ecosystems. They need maintenance like water changes, filter replacements, and the occasional algae scrub.
Aqua Design Innovations, an undergraduate UCSD startup has designed the EcoQube, a compact aquarium that uses plants like basil to keep the water clean.
How does it work? The EcoQube is a recirculating system where the fish produce nutrients for the plants that grow above it. This concept is called aquaponics, a method of sustainable food production that the founders of Aqua Design Innovations, Kevin Liang and Eric Suen, see as the future of organic farming.
The EcoQube comes with a K-12 curriculum about the science behind aquaponics and self sustaining ecosystems. Help Kevin and Eric deliver the EcoQube to homes and classrooms across the country. You can support their Kickstarter campaign here: http://kck.st/1b6GV4m
Our names are Eric and Kevin. We’re UC San Diego students and aquarium geeks who met in high school and instantly became intrigued by planted aquatic ecosystems. As we got older, we realized the bigger challenges humanity as a whole faces in terms of food and water shortages so we decided to use our knowledge of aquariums to deliver the concept of aquaponics and the impact it can have to as many people as possible.
We started out working in various stores. Kevin actually served as a biologist assistant at the Steinhart Aquarium (California Academy of Sciences) where he managed and maintained 100,000 gallon systems as well as serve as the operations manager at Aquatic Central, the largest aquarium specific store in San Francisco. Eric was one of the first employees at Archaea International Corporation (DBA Aqua Forest Aquarium) also based in San Francisco where he focused on sales, customer relations and product user interface development.
(read and see many more pictures and video at their Kickstarter page) http://kck.st/1b6GV4m
Two weeks ago I was asked to talk about environmental issues on the Techno Granny’s radio show along with Tamar Cerafici, an environmental attorney based in New Hampshire. This show covered many topics under the title “10 Plus Technologies that will help you go green and conserve the environment.”
Some things we discussed:
Why frogs are threatened with extinction and the number of issues they’re facing
How industries such as paper mills are polluting the water which is affecting frogs and possibly humans
Can technology really help you go green? Can an attorney really be an environmental advocate?
Working in the cloud and how this technology is saving the environment, such as Dropbox, Google docs, iCloud and Evernote, because you can use and access from anywhere
How to have a paperless office and how courtrooms are embracing this new technology
Tomorrow morning (11.18.2013) we will meet for round 2! Tamar and I will join the broadcast again at 10 am EST, after the Techno Granny (Joanne Quinn-Smith) received so many comments asking us to talk about additional topics.
Some of the topics to be discussed:
The effect pesticides have on the environment (pollution): water, animals, soil, humans
Atrazine: The 21st Century’s DDT (Roundup)
Chlorothalonil is the most commonly used synthetic fungicide in the USA, commonly applied to peanuts, tomatoes and potatoes. (what are we eating?)
Alternatives to using Pesticides, Green Farming?
Organizations talking about this and trying to spread awareness. (Save the Frogs, National Pesticide Information Center, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Environmental Protection Agency and Frogs Are Green)
When was your organization founded? Please tell us a bit about its mission, goals…
I founded The Green Suite in 2012. At the Green Suite, our mission is to save the planet, one home at a time by offering affordable classes and DIY kits that promote a green lifestyle.
What is your educational background and what lead to creating this organization?
I have degrees in Theater and Marketing. I’ve always had a knack for building and design as well as a passion for the environment. I founded The Green Suite shortly after I completed work on my own solar power system and a hydroponic windowfarm. I learned most of what I needed to know from a few books, several YouTube videos, and lots of trial and error. I quickly realized there was an opportunity to run a business teaching others what I had learned. Within a few months I expanded the scope of my classes to include DIY Solar Energy, Hydroponic Windowfarming, as well as Zombie Survival Training. I also offer several products in my store, all of which are made from recycled materials.
What are some challenges you have faced and how did you deal with them?
Promotion and exposure have always been a challenge. With a new business it’s always hard at first but the first few months were brutal. I planned several classes but it was almost impossible to get people to register. I exchanged e-mails with several people interested but that was it. I decided I needed to cast a wider net. I tried several methods with limited results but what turned everything around was listing my classes on Dabble. Dabble.co is a great site that offers one-time classes at affordable prices. As soon as I signed up, my classes started selling and I starting getting tons of exposure. Dabble is also great because they make it easy for people to leave reviews about you and your classes.
What can people do to help? Donate, and contribute to your cause? Other ideas?
Spread the word and connect with me online. People in the Chicago area can join any of my Dabble classes, check my profile for the next session. For those not in Chicago stay tuned to The Green Suite Store for my digital classes that will be available soon.
How do you reach your targeted audience? Is it through your website, advertising or social media or another route? Which is most effective and why?
Almost all of my successful marketing has been via social media. Mostly through Twitter because there are so many awesome tools to help build an audience. Also Dabble was a perfect fit for my business because our demographics were exactly the same and they do a great job promoting classes on their site.
How do you keep the audience engaged over time?
If you want to keep an audience engaged you have to keep cranking out good content. I try to post as often as I can and maintain good quality. For me that’s usually between 3 and 5 posts a week.
Tell us about your events around the world and some of the campaigns you have started.
What is in the works for the future? What haven’t you yet tackled, but will want to do soon?
I have some big plans for 2013 one of which being my digital classes. They will be a downloadable version of all of my classes. They will come with a PDF outlining each session and a video.
To contact Nick Conrad and learn more about The Green Suite, click and follow:
When was your organization founded?
Coyote Peterson Brands LLC, Swamp Monsters and Brave Wilderness were all founded in 2010. Please tell us a bit about your mission and goals
Coyote Peterson Brands was founded to develop a wide variety of film and television projects (Swamp Monsters and Brave Wilderness are the first) to be hosted by Coyote Peterson. Our goal is to use media platforms as a vehicle and outlet to help conservation messages be spread across the globe. Ultimately we hope to inspire and educate- through adventure- the next generation of explorers and conservationists.
What is your educational background and what lead to creating this organization?
I have been fascinated with nature since I was probably 4 years old. This prompted me to educate myself as much as I could about animals and outdoor/wilderness survival. I went to The Ohio State University from which I have a degree in film writing, production and directing. Post- college my team and I decided to combine filmmaking with the animal kingdom and we began developing television and film projects. What are some challenges you have faced and how did you deal with them?
There is a laundry list of challenges we face each and every day. Everything from raising funding in order to take an expedition for filming right down to surviving in the environment as we seek out the animals we hope to encounter and film.
Combining the world of filmmaking with animals and dangerous situations within environments is like a triple threat challenge. Each one has its own obstacles and we take them on one at a time in a strategic manner. We believe the key to succeeding at anything in life is nothing more than taking things one step at a time!
It is incredibly fun and rewarding work when things manage to pan out, and we always seem to find a way to make the impossible happen! I credit that to my own ambitions and to an amazing producing team, camera team and the wonderful organizations and individuals that help us when on location filming. When we do finally encounter animals that we seek in the wild…well that credit all goes to the beauty of nature and the “right place…right time” theory.
What can people do to help? Donate, and contribute to your cause? Other ideas?
Well, people can ALWAYS help. Mostly we raise independent financing for our projects but this year we will tackle some huge conservation projects for which donations would be more than appreciated! If people follow us through social media they will be able to keep up with what we are doing and we will advertise how to get involved. I also love to do public appearances and will always travel to meet new people and conservation groups. How do you reach your targeted audience?
We reach out to our audience mostly through the Internet. For us it’s all about creating interesting content, whether original or shared from others. If we can help educate and promote conservation for the planet and its animals we are doing the right thing. We find that staying consistent with our work is the best way to garner a following. Right now the CP Animal Anthology, which is a mixture of photograph collages and succinct facts, seems to keep our fans through Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram entertained. As we begin to release video content we are confident our fan base will only keep growing!
Is it through your website, advertising or social media or another route?
Right now its social media, although in the future these devices will be a way to push fans and followers toward our website and internet channels. Which is most effective and why?
Most effective is probably Facebook, just because SO many people are on it multiple times a day. It also allows you to share video and photo content quickly and links to all other social media platforms comfortably. We use FB as our primary source of information sharing and combined with the iPhone it is an unstoppable force! For example, the Animal Anthology is created using nothing more than the iPhone and the Internet…animal education and conservation are right in the palms of our hands…it’s so cool to live in an age when technology allows so much creativity!
How do you keep the audience engaged over time?
It’s all about new content. However, it has to be GOOD content. If you are consistently creating quality, people will keep coming back. We aspire to really engage with our fan base and want to know what THEY want to see. Social media is a huge help with that, because it allows our audience to interact and make suggestions!
Tell us about your events around the world and some of the campaigns you have started.
As we began Coyote Peterson Brands just two years ago, we have only travelled a limited amount. Although we did go to Costa Rica to film, we find that there is much to be done in our own community, and hope that our audience adopts this message as well! Our work in Columbus, Ohio has focused on research and conservation of wetland environment. Specifically, we research Common Snapping Turtles, promote the preservation of their habitats, and educate a vast audience about these incredible and often misunderstood reptiles.
However, we are currently gearing up to start a conservation project and documentary film for Polar Bears which will be shot this fall in Churchill, Manitoba, Canada. Polar Bears are the largest land predator on the planet, yet they are disappearing as the sea ice they depend on for survival continues to melt away from climate change. This will be our biggest undertaking yet in the realm of conservation, and we feel one of the most important we will ever have the chance to be a part of. My team is unbelievably excited to be taking on this challenge and it will certainly be a life changing experience. What is in the works for the future?
We have so much planned it makes our heads spin! We have two web/tv series in development. Swamp Monsters sends my team and me across the eastern part of the US as we follow a trail of folklore stories, photographic evidence and scientific facts while tracking down giant snapping turtles, hoping to capture and release a new world record. Brave Wilderness is an animal adventure and conservation series that follows my team and me into remote locations as we track down and film some of the planet’s most amazing and misunderstood animals. This series will span the globe and encompass the entire animal kingdom; no animal is too big or small for these adventures! Both series are in development and begin filming this summer. Finally, Polar Ghost isour documentary on Polar Bears and their plight facing extinction in the wild. This will be a feature length documentary that we will submit to film festivals and then hopefully distribute through a network like National Geographic. So in short…2013 is going to be one crazy and adventure filled year!
What haven’t you yet tackled, but will want to do soon?
Ha ha, that’s a big one! I guess our overall goal is to have spent time on every continent, filming with as many of the world’s animals as possible and doing our absolute best to work with and promote as many conservation groups as possible. Brave Wilderness will truly be the vehicle for that goal and while I might host the series…it’s really the animals and the conservation groups that we will work with who are the “stars” of the series. Animals need help and as long as humans are on the planet they always will. It’s a long road but we can’t wait to travel it!
What else would like our readers to know?
We have a ton of incredible sponsors that believe in our vision for the future of animal entertainment and conservation and it’s because of these sponsors that we are geared to the max! People always want to know where I get all of my cool stuff, from the hat to the multi-tools, and all of them can be found on my website. The team and I feel incredibly lucky to have what we consider to be the best names in the world of animal adventure behind us!
Great video of a Frog and Toad!
Wild video of a Snapping Turtle… or two…
To learn more about Coyote Peterson Brands, visit and follow the links below:
In this post, we are pleased to feature Matt Ellerbeck, a salamander advocate and conservationist, who created the Save the Salamanders project.
Matt Ellerbeck, aka The Salamander Man, is a man with a mission: he is striving to raise awareness of the threats that salamanders face, and to educate people on effective actions that they can take to help alleviate these threats. The actions include behavioral changes, land stewardship, and habitat management efforts. To bring his message of salamander conservation and protection to the public, Matt utilizes several platforms: media appearances, awareness campaigns, social networking, the distribution of informative fact sheets, and educational presentations/lectures.
Matt also aims to help salamanders by diligently collecting observational records of these animals in the wild. These records are sent to various organizations to help gain a better understanding of salamander populations, ranges, and habitats.
He hopes that through awareness and education, people will develop a sense of empathy and concern for salamanders, and in turn will have a desire to become active in their recovery. For those who do want to contribute to the conservation & protection of salamanders, his site contains much information on how to become active.
As Matt describes his mission:
Everything that I do, I do because I sincerely believe it will help contribute to the conservation & betterment of salamanders, which is my ultimate goal and ambition! Salamanders are the focal point of my life. There is not a day that goes by that I am not doing something salamander related, whether it’s presenting educational lectures on salamander conservation, writing articles, giving interviews, or collecting observations of salamanders in the wild. When I am not doing such activities I am planning and prepping for such efforts. A good portion of every day also goes towards the care of the many salamanders that I live with. These salamanders take turns accompanying me during my lectures and presentations to act as education animals and ambassadors for their kind.
Below is a video interview with Matt in which he discusses his mission:
When was your organization founded? Please tell us a bit about its mission, goals…
Save the Frogs is the first and only public charity devoted to amphibians. It was founded in May 2008. Our mission is to save and protect amphibians, as well as to respect and appreciate nature and wildlife.
I founded Save the Frogs because frogs were rapidly disappearing around the world. About one-third of amphibians are on the verge of extinction. At least 2,000 species are threatened and if nothing is done, will likely go extinct. Most of the work previous to Save the Frogs was done by scientists helping amphibians, but educating the public about the issue is also very important.
Save the Frogs has education programs and works to get laws in place, for example, to get frogs legs out of restaurants, provide schools with alternatives to dissecting frogs, and prevent non-native frogs from being imported.
The biggest thing is environmental education so I created Save the Frogs Day, an event which comes around each year. This April 28th will be the 4th annual Save the Frogs Day and there will be 200 events in 30 countries, which will top last year’s 143 events in 21 countries.
The events bring awareness around the world, especially on that particular day and it receives significant publicity in the media.
What is your educational background and what lead to creating this organization?
I was always interested math and science and studied mechanical engineering as an undergraduate at the University of Virginia, but soon realized I wanted to pursue environmental science. I went back to school to study biology in preparation for graduate school.
I spent a summer in Hawaii volunteering with PhD students who were studying birds. It was then that I knew environmental science was my path. I loved hanging out at streams, so thought about what types of animals live in streams and then found out that frogs were disappearing. I thought frogs would be great to study for my PhD, so I went to Australia and came across Mark Hero in South East Queensland, who became my supervisor. I studied frogs, and the disease, chytrid fungus, which is driving amphibians to extinction.
I finished my PhD, came back to the United States and founded Save the Frogs. I love my work because it’s a combination of communicating awareness, educating the public and science.
What are some challenges you have faced and how did you deal with them?
The first challenge was funding, because we founded in 2008 during the economic recession. Raising funds for a non-profit is hard in the best of times, plus saving frogs is still somewhat of an obscure topic. Most people still don’t know why we should protect frogs.
Save the Frogs works hard on awareness by using the web and speaking to the public directly.
I try to get publicity through newspapers and for-profit corporations involved. Some of them have practices that are harmful to the environment. Many companies when approached don’t necessarily care about what they are doing and only care about making money.
At least one billion frogs are taken out of the environment for use as food in restaurants (frogs legs) and farm-raised frogs carry diseases and if you approach restaurants and ask them to stop selling them, they only see it as a monetary loss.
I have and will continue to approach tech firms in nearby in Silicon Valley for funding. Many of them have no environmental program.
How is climate change effecting amphibians?
Climate change is a huge problem, so it’s good that it gets a lot of attention. We need more people in the government looking seriously at climate change and what to do about it. It’s very important to amphibians because they are very connected to precipitation levels.
“Amphibian” means two lives, one on land and one in the water. Frogs either lay their eggs in water or in leaf litter and the ones who are not in the water are in cloud forests in tropical countries. As the temperature rises, the cloud level rises and the leaf litter dries up. This means that the frogs must continually move up and eventually will run out of space. Many of the frog species live on a particular mountain and only that mountain, so if something happens to that species it can go extinct.
It’s not just tropical forests that are in trouble, Yellowstone National Park in the U.S. has had droughts. About one fourth of the ponds have started to dry up and many frog species are on the decline.
Save the Frogs had five posters up in airports around the country and the one in O’Hare is still up and has been seen by hundreds of thousands of people.
How do you reach your targeted audience? Is it through your website, advertising or social media or another route? Which is most effective and why?
The best way I can reach people is through our Save the Frogs website which has helped make it a worldwide organization. Our e-newsletter is also a great tool because whenever we need help and send it out, we can reach tens of thousands of people. We recently sent out an email with a free download of “The Wild World of Frogs” and it got 40,000 downloads in the first day! Many of those downloads were from friends forwarding the newsletter to their friends.
We create a variety of flyers people can post around their towns. Most things we do are free and up on our website and if you give people the tools they will help spread the word.
Some of the other ways we reach people is through our Facebook page with frequent updates, as well as through Twitter.
I give live presentations and did 65 this year. I believe you can get more people involved by interacting with them face-to-face. I’m trying to get more teachers involved and Save the Frogs Day on April 28 is a great way and to get lots of people talking about it.
What can people do to help?
There are lots of ways to help Save the Frogs! Our website has over 250 pages of information. I feel that educating yourself on the issues is the first step and then subscribing to our newsletter to stay informed.
Learning how you can change your ecological footprint is a great way to help. Everything you do effects the environment.
There are lots of ways to volunteer and many things can be done through the internet so you can be from anywhere! There is a form on our website you can fill out. We have various campaigns and also need help writing letters to the government, for example, the campaign to ban Atrazine. Visit our “take action” page.
Save the Frogs is a 5013C public charity and has a wish list of things we need which is also posted on our website.
Tell us about your events around the world and some of the campaigns you have started.
Save the Frogs is an international organization because amphibians are disappearing all over the world. A few years ago I was asked down to Panama to give a five day talk on molecular biology and also taught the scientists there how to detect the chytrid fungus disease. If you cannot detect the disease, how can you do any research on it. The materials and information is available on the Save the Frogs website. “QPC” is the technique for detecting the disease and the materials have been downloaded by scientists in over 30 countries.
Last year I got invited to Korea and was the representative for the 1st Amphibian International Symposium. I traveled around Korea for 10 days doing environmental work. Seeing what types of problems they had, coming up with solutions and giving presentations to communities, groups and schools. We have applied for a $50,000 grant that would go to helping Korea’s amphibians.
In September, 2011 I spent a month in Ghana and helped them start Save the Frogs Ghana. We are registering it as a NGO with the government of Ghana. It will be an independent Save the Frogs working on it’s own. We have written a proposal to help the Squeaker Frog (Arthroleptidae: Arthroleptis) and also to make the Atewa Hills a national park. We are trying to save the Togo Slippery Frog (Conraua derooi) which lives in only two streams and are threatened by mining. They are a fully aquatic frog and swim as fast as a fish.
What is in the works for the future?
Save the Frogs is coming to New York, New Jersey and Connecticut in March 2012. I will be looking for schools and community groups for presentations.
Save the Frogs Day is April 28th and we have a 5k race planned in Seattle and another event in San Francisco. There will be “Ban Atrazine” rallies and we will be raising awareness about it.
New campaigns include a petition to Governor Gerry Brown to stop the importation of American Bullfrogs. About 3 million are imported to the state of California each year. Being native to the east coast, when they come to California, they eat the native wildlife and they are primarily for pets, dissection and frogs legs in restaurants. They carry the chytrid fungus so are spreading the disease.
Nathan’s Famous is now selling frogs legs and I want to get this to stop. The executive and CEOs have refused to address the issue. They need to take some environmental responsibility.
Helping Save the Frogs Ghana
Ghana is a poor country and frogs are in trouble because of illegal foresting. There are now programs in place to teach mushroom farming and bee keeping which can change a family’s life. We will be working to get the Atewa Hills a national park.
To learn more about Save the Frogs visit the links below:
