04/27/15

Ilah Rose Hickman, Idaho Giant Salamander Advocate

Below is a written interview with Ilah Rose Hickman, who fought for the Idaho State Amphibian, the Idaho Giant Salamander. I was also fortunate to interview Ilah on my Suzy Brandtastic podcast series. Since writing this interview the bill passed and Idaho now has a State Amphibian!

Listen here: Ilah Rose Hickman eco-interview podcast

Please tell us a bit about your mission and goals…

I started my legislative journey in 4th grade when we learned about Idaho history in social studies. In the unit on Idaho state symbols, our teacher gave us an assignment to create a new symbol and then write a mock letter to our legislator and ask them to support the proposed symbol. When I went home that day I told my Mom I wanted to propose a new symbol for real, and not just for a mock assignment. So that’s how it all began!

What is your educational background and what lead to this mission?

I am now in 8th grade at Les Bois Junior High in Boise Idaho. Ever since that fourth grade assignment, I have been determined to have a new state symbol designated in Idaho. In fourth grade I learned that many other states had a state amphibian or reptile designated, but Idaho did not. So I decided to research amphibians and reptiles, and also found out who my representatives were in the legislature and wrote to them. My district Senator met with me in the summer before 5th grade and recommended I pick one symbol, so after my research I decided to choose the Idaho Giant Salamander as a state amphibian. In 6th grade I had a committee hearing in the House but the bill did not go any further than that. In 7th grade the bill started in the Senate, and it passed all the way through the full Senate but then the House committee ran out of time and I did not get a hearing there.

Now this year the bill was given a committee hearing in January, and they voted against sending it to the full House for a vote. But then last week the committee Chairman called us and said they had “revived” the Bill and yesterday it went to full House for a vote and passed 51-17. Now I am hoping it gets to the Senate before the legislature adjourns this session.

Of the 15 amphibians native to Idaho, I chose the Idaho Giant Salamander because it has “Idaho” in its name, it resides almost exclusively in Idaho (and just a sliver of adjacent Montana) and the marbled brown pattern on the adult’s skin looks like a topographical map of the Idaho Bitterroot mountains. Other native amphibians like frogs and toads are already designated as amphibians in other states, and many of them live in widespread areas beyond Idaho.

What are some challenges you have faced and how did you deal with them?

I have had to learn patience! I have had to wait a whole year multiple times because once the bill “dies” or is “killed” by a committee, you are done for that year and have to wait for the next session. Also, many legislators have said no to my bill. But every time they have said no it has pushed me forward by encouraging me to come back the following year and be better prepared to persuade them better to get an “aye” vote. Last summer I went to a “salamander” camp with a local biology professor and his students to capture, tag, collect data, and release Idaho Giant Salamanders in a stream near the Lochsa River. This really helped me in my testimony to the committee this year. And after the House committee voted against sending it to the full House for a vote this session, I sent letters to a lot of 4th grade teachers in the districts of those legislators who voted no, and told the about the bill, their legislator’s “no” vote, and reasons they could support the bill and asked them to write their legislators. I think that kind of statewide support from other students and educators helped a bill like mine.

What can people do to help? Donate and contribute to your cause? Other ideas?

Throughout this 5 year process, I have had many students, teachers, and other residents write letters to the representatives of their districts in support of this bill. Even young students in first or second grade have drawn pictures of salamanders and sent them to their legislators. If someone lives in Idaho they can write their legislator and ask them to support the Bill. I also have a Facebook page set up to keep people (in and out of Idaho) up to date on what’s happening with the Bill.

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?

I use my Facebook page to communicate with supporters, and over the years I have emailed lots of teachers and asked them to support the bill by having their students write to their legislators. At my own school I have had a ballot box in the library, and my Earth Science class wrote letters of support. I visited a 4th grade class here in Boise and told them about my experience, and I’ve been interviewed on a few radio stations here in Idaho to talk about my bill.

How do you keep the audience engaged over time?

Each year I have learned more about the legislative process, the politics involved, and I keep learning more and more about the salamander as well. Scientists and other amphibian fans contact me with research, stories and other data that has helped me strengthen my arguments for this bill, and I try to communicate all of this to the supporters of the bill by Facebook, and in my testimony, and other interviews.

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?

This week I am working hard to get the Bill to the Senate floor before they adjourn for the year. I am 50 percent done and am hoping to get it passed this year!!! If the Bill does not get through the Senate, I will be back next year. I also hope to get to go back to “salamander camp” in the summer with the biology professor because that was so educational and a lot of fun!

Would you like to add anything not discussed above?

I have been passionate about this project because once I begin something, I like to see it through to the end. And so I want to keep going with this until the Bill passes. I also really love all animals
and learning about them. And once I learned about the Idaho Giant Salamander, I just thought it was such a cool animal because “amphibian” means double life, and this one is so special and unique to Idaho. Salamanders in general are valuable in areas like medical research (because they regenerate lost limbs),
climate control (because they contribute to the forest carbon cycle), and are different than any other animal state symbol we already have.

Learn more:
On Facebook: Idaho Giant Salamander for State Amphibian
YouTube link to a video about the Idaho Giant Salamander:

(This is what I showed to the House committee. One of the professors at salamander camp made it for me.)

-Ilah Rose Hickman

04/6/15

The Benefits of Frogs in Your Garden

Frogs and toads, just like so many other animal species, are suffering a decline in numbers. This is due to environmental problems, climate change and human factors and show that the changes we are seeing in the environment are signs that something is wrong.

What many people should realize is that frogs need to be viewed as an important part of the ecosystem.

Frogs and toads are not only very beautiful and diverse (Frogs per Wikipedia – approximately 4,800 species); they can also prove to be very beneficial for your garden.

Every ecosystem is comprised of multiple species that create a chain. It is what keeps the balance in nature and what maintains life as we know it. As such, frogs and toads have their place under the sun and should be protected. This is the reason why you will do very well to ensure that frogs can find shelter in your garden. If you provide the right conditions and features for these amphibian creatures, they should appear.
Frogs are good bioindicators. There is a lot that you can learn from the frogs in your garden. Frogs can show you that something is wrong in the area, or if they are happily breeding and living in the area, then everything should be okay. If you are dedicated and want to have a perfect garden, you can use the indications from frogs to know if the conditions in your garden are good, or if the frogs that used to dwell there suddenly go missing, you will know there is a disturbance.
Pest control – frogs are amazing at cleaning the garden from harmful insects. If you are having such problems, you can easily eliminate them by introducing frogs among your plants. A single frog can eat over 100 insects, such as caterpillars, sow bugs and cutworms and more. These can destroy your entire garden if left unchecked. With frogs around, you won’t need to use harmful pesticides, either.

Toads and frogs can be one of the best solutions for your garden. Not only will you have a garden safe of bugs and insects, but you will also have very pleasant amphibians hopping around.

Tree Frog and Bug from EarthRangers.com

Guest post by Ella Andrews granted on behalf of: an excellent cleaning in Ruislip.

04/5/15

How Awareness Really Catches Fire

The phone is ringing and a friend is excited to tell me there’s a discussion about frogs right now on WNYC radio. Robin Moore, the author and photographer of “In Search of Lost Frogs,” is being interviewed on the Leonard Lopate Show (The Conservation Efforts Trying to Keep Frogs From Going Extinct). At the same moment, a Jersey City colleague is emailing me about the same thing and writes that she’s left a comment about Frogs Are Green and our kids frog art project on WNYC’s website.

During the interview they discuss many of the issues that frogs face today, including the deadly Chytrid Fungus and climate change. One caller asks about the drought situation in California and its toll on frogs. They also talk about how many frog species have gone extinct in the wild and at the same time new species are being discovered, as close as New York. They also talk about how important the medical research is as they test the poisonous skin of dart frogs.

Dart Frog courtesy of Devin Edmonds

Almost every day, Facebook friends post on my timeline or the Frogs Are Green page, or Tweet at us about frogs and/or the environment.

I’m sharing this because it was six years ago this May that I founded Frogs Are Green, and so many people laughed at this cause. They’d say, “Frogs? … Who’s going to care about frogs?”

I’m happy to tell you that in six years we have reached over a million people. Each month we have 13,000 visitors who look at more than 32,000 pages, which gives us an amazing bounce rate of 1.8 %. Yes, that is not a misprint, we have a 1.8% bounce rate. These stats have been holding steady for years and are again on the rise.

We didn’t used to post on Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn (groups) and Twitter every day, but in 2014 we made a commitment to do so and reach more people than ever.

As the above story shows, our mission is working. Awareness really begins to catch fire when others know you so well that they support and advance your campaign goals without hesitation.

It all comes from zeroing in on a niche and being consistent by sharing every day. By being “top of mind” on a particular thing that’s so different, so unique, they just see frogs and think of Frogs Are Green.

10 Tips for building your nonprofit’s awareness and following

Make sure that your website (the nucleus of your online presence) is 100% on target in expressing your mission and goals. On your homepage be brief and entice, don’t overwhelm with too many calls to action. Make sure your brand and mission are crystal clear. Be sure you are blogging and/or adding new, valuable content consistently.

Be sure when you blog, post, or tweet, you are adding an appropriate and eye-catching photo that will prompt others to share it, not just “like” it.

Be sure you are using #hashtags but don’t go crazy with them, lest no one will see or read your post… (I see this a lot on Instagram; so many hashtags I can’t find the message!)

Don’t try to sell all the time with posts/tweets about buying products, classes or donating to your cause. Once in a while is all right, but you will really build your audience by sharing significant information. As they move around your website reading articles they will come to respect your efforts and just may click that donate button on their own.

Your “competition” organization is your friend. Remember, you are both trying to help others, save wildlife and the environment, and so those that follow those other organizations may follow you too! Be kind and retweet.

If you are planning to boost or advertise, make sure you are being selective about the information and target audience. Do your homework and know where your target is, both online or offline.

Remember that your target audience can be in many different places. Be sure to review your Google Analytics each week and identify if what you are doing is working. For example, if you are spending most of your social media time on Facebook but when you look at your stats you have more people visiting your site from Twitter, you should tweet more often than you are!

People consume content in many different ways, so be sure you are creating video for YouTube, audio for Podcasting, Powerpoint (for Slideshare or LinkedIn), photo galleries on Flickr, Pinterest and Facebook, blog posts that can embed these other media files, graphic images, and more… (and then share across social sites).

When you have new media to share, don’t post on every social site at the same time and then not post for a week until the next post. Schedule different places each day so your content is circulating all the time.

Be sure to alert the local media about events and other important news so that they can write about you. If you don’t tell them yourself, how do you expect them to know? Publicity helps awareness and begets more publicity.

Frogs Are Green was fortunate to interview Robin Moore on a podcast also. Listen here >> Robin Moore

03/23/15

Keeping Your Pond Alive

The water in your garden pond is very sensitive to change. Depending on a number of factors, a pond can soon go from crystal clear to pea soup without any apparent explanation. You will quickly learn that pond pollutants can hide in the clearest water.

Filtration

An easy first step to ensuring a healthy pond environment is the use of a good filter and you should contact a specialist retailer, like Swell UK, who can advise you on the best solution. Biological filters will break down harmful toxins, like ammonia from fish waste, so they can be either removed or absorbed by the plant life in your pond. A UV filter will also help keep green water and algae at bay and keep down the levels of bacteria that could be harmful to the life in your pond.

A good water balance

High nitrate or pH levels in your pond can bring about the most common pond problem: algae. Algae can cause havoc in ponds, keeping light and oxygen from the plants and animals that need them. Regular testing should be carried out to keep on top of the environment in the water before an algae problem breaks out. You can pick up kits for any potential problem from online stores like Swell UK. These give you the all important heads-up you need to take action.

A key part of maintaining the right water balance is ensuring you use a good liner that will not only resist damage but ensure any outside nitrate sources, like fertilizer, are prevented from seeping through.

Oxygen

Oxygen plays a vital role in ensuring the good health of your pond. Without oxygen, certain bacteria found towards the bottom of ponds will begin to produce acids and toxins that will harm the fish, insects and helpful bacteria that may live in your pond. By planting particular oxygenating plants, you can create a natural balance of oxygen levels, but only during the day. By making use of an air pump or any water feature that will disturb the water surface, you can maintain a good oxygen level throughout the day, protecting the well being of your pond.

02/8/15

Frogs and Water Quality

Yesterday, in class with the Cloud Institute and Sustainable Jersey (NJ Learns), each student got to briefly share their project, so I was describing the Frogs Are Green mission and projects on the agenda for 2015.

My teacher Jaimie P. Cloud, challenged me with this question. “Much of what Frogs Are Green is about is bringing awareness to the public, but is there a change I want in the public’s behavior?”

It made me think about one specific area that we can focus on which would help frogs and amphibians as well as other wildlife and humans, and that is water quality.

We know that there are many issues, such as, pollution and oil spills, pesticides and other toxins, pharmaceuticals, and these aren’t just affecting wildlife, but us as well. It’s humans that are creating many of these problems, so it’s obvious that we must be the ones to correct it.

I did a search on Google for Frogs and Water Quality and was surprised to learn there is currently no standard for water quality as it applies to frogs and amphibians:
“The factors thought to be contributing to declines in frog populations include habitat loss, introduction of exotic species, overexploitation, disease, climate change, and decreasing water quality. With respect to water quality, agroecosystems use 80-90% of the water resources in the western United States, frequently resulting in highly eutrophic conditions. Recent investigations suggest that these eutrophic conditions (elevated pH, water temperature, and un-ionized ammonia) may be associated with frog embryo mortality or malformations. However, water quality criteria for frogs and other amphibians do not currently exist. Here, we briefly review data that support the need to develop water quality parameters for frogs in agroecosystems and other habitats.”
(from this website: PMC1519110/http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1519110/)

What this tells me is that currently the water quality is tested to make sure it’s safe for humans, but there are no regulations in place for it to be safe for wildlife? Doesn’t it matter that it’s healthy for all life?

I’ll be reading much more on this issue and would like to invite you to share your thoughts or links to additional documentation you may have found.

Here’s a video I’d like to share because it shows just how important it is to educate the young with hands-on education from Marie Hartford, Science, 5th Grade Teacher and her students in Redmond, WA on the Teaching Channel about “Measuring the pH as it Relates to Water Quality.”

01/2/15

The Very Inspiring Green Blogger Award

I want to thank Lauri Fortino, children’s book author and library assistant, who writes a blog called Frog On A Blog for nominating Frogs Are Green for the Very Inspiring Blogger Award! Starting 2015 off right! Her book, The Peddler’s Bed is coming in the Fall!

The award rules:

Display the award on your blog
Link back to the person who nominated you
State 7 things about yourself
Nominate 15 bloggers, link to them, and notify them about their nominations

Seven facts you didn’t know about me:

In high school, I was torn between music and art and finally decided my path would be art (I sing, but only around here).
I’m allergic to chocolate. (Sad, I know!)
I wish I could have more animals… dogs, fish, birds. (Maybe I should move to the country?)
I read almost every night, clears the mind of other thoughts.
I truly love helping people and so glad that I get to everyday.
Movies are my favorite pastime, old or new, just tell me a great story.
I collect children’s picture books and yes, FROG things!

My sixteen nominations for the Very Inspiring Green Blogger Award (check them out!)

Blogger awards are a great way to spread the word about blogs that you enjoy. We can all use a bit of help getting the word out. If I’ve nominated you and you’d rather not participate, that’s fine, but do consider giving a shout-out for some of the blogs you follow. Those bloggers will appreciate your support.

Frogs Are Green

Environmental Organization Helping to Bring Awareness About Frog Decline Around The World

Category Archives: wildlife conservation

Ilah Rose Hickman, Idaho Giant Salamander Advocate

The Benefits of Frogs in Your Garden

Keeping Your Pond Alive

Frogs and Water Quality

The Very Inspiring Green Blogger Award