Category Archives: wildlife conservation

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:

  1. In high school, I was torn between music and art and finally decided my path would be art (I sing, but only around here).
  2. I’m allergic to chocolate. (Sad, I know!)
  3. I wish I could have more animals… dogs, fish, birds. (Maybe I should move to the country?)
  4. I read almost every night, clears the mind of other thoughts.
  5. I truly love helping people and so glad that I get to everyday.
  6. Movies are my favorite pastime, old or new, just tell me a great story.
  7. 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.

12/4/14

Building Reach, Near and Far

We know that if we build a web presence with the right SEO (search engine optimization) over time we will reach those who are searching for what we are offering.

But what if your target audience isn’t looking for what you’re doing? How can we reach them?

This is the 5th year of the Frogs Are Green Kids Art Contest, so naturally those who have entered in the past are aware and may enter again. In addition, some parents and kids in countries around the world may be watching what other countries are doing and then get into the action as well. In the past 5 years we have received thousands of entries from more than 27 countries! When people are looking for something specific on the web and the right SEO is in place, those pages are found.

For example, Hong Kong has entered many beautiful artworks over the past few years, but this year in addition to the entries from China, we received entries from Japan, Malaysia and Indonesia. Last year we received some amazing art from Estonia, and this year from England, Ireland, Denmark, and Romania. Information can spread to new areas when we consistently push it out there and when the public is actively looking for it and then shares it, pushing it even further.

But the question today is how do we reach the ones nearby?

kids drawing frogs in park jersey city

The answer is by introducing people to real-time situations where they are learning new things. If we want children who live in urban areas to understand nature and why saving frogs is important, we need to bring them to the source, yes bring them to nature. How can we expect children who live in urban environments to care about wildlife when it is somewhat foreign to them? This is why many classrooms today have class pets. So children can be directly involved in the health and well-being of those animals. But there is nothing better than showing them the animals’ true habitat.

Last Spring, Frogs Are Green made a presentation to 60 first-graders at the Learning Community Charter School in Jersey City, showing them both frog art from around the world and a slideshow of some of the most unusual frogs. They learn about frogs and amphibians as part of their school curriculum and they already knew quite a bit and were very enthusiastic about the topic.

During 2014 we developed a new six-week curriculum, “Frogs, Amphibians and their Threatened Environment – Discovery and Expression through Art” which is available for download, under the education tab on our website.

During the summer and early fall, we had set up tables at quite a few community fairs and events so children could stop by, sit down and draw frogs with the art supplies we laid out. Children love to create and don’t need that much encouragement once engaged. They just need the right guidance from teachers and parents. We also know that children love animals. Many have pets at home, but it’s not the same as seeing those animals in nature.

If we want children to care about nature, we must show it to them, through field trips and when they see the real thing it will lead them to care what happens in the future.

What’s cool is that even in urban areas there are parks, such as our own Liberty State Park. Imagine the fantastic discovery students might have by seeing everything from frogs to birds, and more if they just went there with an educator.

We see a sharing cycle of teachers educating children, who bring that information home and tell their parents, who then share that with other parents, who share it with their kids and on to community leaders.

The key is getting those sparks of information and creativity started in the right places and making sure the people you want to reach are receiving it.

by Susan Newman, founder

11/18/14

Attracting Newts to Your Pond

Encouraging newts to your garden pond will add life and color that can be seen for much of the year. You should never remove them from the wild but there are a few steps you can take to invite them to take up residence in your pond.

Newts not only add life to the pond, they also eat algae. So they provide a natural solution to a common problem. As they are most active during the warmer months of the year, when algae is rifer, they can be a real help. Of course other natural remedies such as Barley Straw will help too.

The best way to invite newts into your garden is to create the ideal habitat. A natural pond without fish is the best environment, as they will eat newt eggs and spawn.

baby newt

Build a loose rockery around or near the pond. This will provide them with shelter to live and breed. The cool, damp, atmosphere is ideal for newts, and will encourage slugs and insects, a good food source. If you want to feed the newts, then you can add bloodworm, daphnia or brine shrimp to the water, a good retailer will have a wide range of pond foods.

Adding plants such as water mint or water forget-me-nots are small but have wide leaves which are perfect for newts to lay and hide their eggs in. Reed plants are also great to promote natural behaviors. The eggs have a jelly like texture, which newts wrap up in leaves to protect them.

Newts are most active from March/April, and you should see babies appear from June to August. From then on, you will notice that they start to disappear, as they mostly hibernate throughout the winter, until around February. During this time, try not to rearrange the rockery or do too much work around the area, as this will disturb the newts.

Children will no doubt be very interested in the new addition to your pond, and it’s a great way to promote a love of nature. However always supervise your children around these slippery creatures, and ensure that if they do pick a newt up, that they do so very gently and with wet hands. Don’t allow the newts to be taken away from the area, or held for more than a few minutes.

You may find that not only newts arrive, but that frogs and toads appear too. As they thrive in similar environments. They can live well together and create a beautifully natural area of wildlife in your garden.

Newt in garden

Don’t worry if newts don’t start to arrive, despite the lovely home you have created. It may take time for them to appear and breed. If your local environment has changed, such as new roads, building sites etc., this may affect the migration of newts too. Leaving the pond and its inhabitants to its own devices will encourage the most natural behaviors and results.

10/9/14

Robin Moore, Conservationist, Photographer and Author of In Search of Lost Frogs

Exclusive!

Tune in tomorrow, October 10, 2014 at 3pm EST and meet…

Robin Moore, conservationist, photographer and author of “In Search of Lost Frogs.”

*** Now Replaying *** The podcast interview is here:
Webcast: Robin Moore interviewed by Susan Newman

Follow the event and comment on Facebook:

Robin Moore Interview on Facebook with Susan Newman (aka Suzy Brandtastic)

Robin Moore, Conservationist, Photographer, and Author of In Search of Lost Frogs

About Robin Moore:

Robin Moore is a conservationist, photographer and the author of In Search of Lost Frogs (In Search of Lost Frogs).

Since gaining a PhD in biodiversity conservation, Robin has been a powerful voice for amphibian conservation.

He is a Conservation Officer with Rainforest Trust, Global Wildlife Conservation and the Amphibian Survival Alliance, the largest global partnership for amphibian conservation.

He is a proud Senior Fellow of the International League of Conservation Photographers (www.ilcp.com), represented by National Geographic Creative, and recently Co-Founded Frame of Mind (www.frameofmind.org), an initiative that empowers youth around the world to connect with their natural and cultural worlds through photography and visual.

_____________________________________

About Suzy Brandtastic interviews:

Susan Newman, an environmentalist and brand visibility designer knows how important it is to tell your “why.” Susan hosts a podcast series, live action video series and a written interview series, all featuring environmentalists, innovators, creatives and small business owners.

09/2/14

Hawaii’s Inhumane Frog Policy

I received yet another call from someone distressed about coqui tree frogs on her property. No, she wasn’t wanting to find out how to kill the frogs. She was trying to find out how to keep them and resist aggressive neighbors wanting the frogs destroyed.

For many people in Hawaii, as in Puerto Rico, the coqui frog is considered an adorable creature, singing at night and improving the environment by eating insect pests. They can get loud in large numbers, but for those who enjoy the sounds of wildlife, the coqui chirp is soothing and creates a white noise that aids sleep. 

However, the Hawaiian government has passed laws to vilify coqui frogs as a noisy environmental menace, making it illegal to “harbor” or transport coquis within the state. According to the law, coquis frogs are pests by definition, and anyone enjoying them does so at his own peril. Millions of dollars have been spent trying to stop the spread of the frogs, which now reside happily on the Big Island’s east side and in limited areas of the other islands.

Of course, if the coqui frogs were native to Hawaii, they would be protected, not killed. The sound would be appreciated and promoted, as it is in Puerto Rico.

coqui frog in Hawaii

However, in today’s Hawaii, only native species are valued. Introduced species are now regarded as illegal aliens, and harboring these aliens is against the law. Laws defining the coqui as a “pest” allow the cruel slaughter of these tiny, harmless creatures, bypassing humane treatment laws.

The Good Shepherd Foundation, of which I am the director, believes that cruelty to animals is unacceptable, regardless of whether the animals are native or not. In 2001 we started a program to counter the anti-coqui propaganda, called CHIRP, or the Coqui Hawaiian Integration and Reeducation Project. Acceptance, we believe, is better than an endless environmental war against the frogs.

Over the years we have been contacted by many residents who found the frogs desirable on their property, but who were being harassed by neighbors who did not yet have the frogs and wanted them eradicated. This meant having one’s property sprayed with citric acid, which kills plants as well as coquis, lizards, insects, and other non-target species. The acid burns the victims to death.

Anti-coqui hysteria has made people fearful of admitting they like the coquis, faced with the unfortunate choices of harassment, or letting eradicators poison their property.

Some residents would like to remove the coquis to avoid the drama, but don’t want to kill the coquis in the process. These humane-minded people are faced with another dilemma. Moving coquis is a crime. The government has made it so people can only kill coquis, either with citric acid or by cooking or freezing the live frogs. You can’t legally catch the frogs and release them somewhere else where there are other frogs.

This means the Hawaiian government has made it illegal to treat the coquis humanely. It forces residents to either be cruel to the frogs, or to break the law and illegally release the frogs elsewhere, which many people do.

The most recent phone call was from a woman who wanted to save the lone coqui on her property from a certain death. A neighbor heard the frog and reported it to the homeowner’s association, which was dispatching an eradicator right away. The neighbor also complained that this same woman was feeding non-native birds, and threatened to have the birds shot.

For those who love wildlife, Hawaii is no longer a paradise. Species are not valued for their beauty and other positive qualities, or for the biological diversity they bring to these volcanic islands. Instead, they are valued solely for being “native,” and are killed solely for being introduced.

It is a war on wildlife. Property owners, residents, and visitors who value wildlife for what it is, regardless of whether or not it was introduced, are victims of this war.

For more, see our website, www.HawaiianCoqui.org.

Guest post: Sydney Ross Singer is a medical anthropologist, author, and director of the Good Shepherd Foundation.  He lives on a coqui frog sanctuary with his wife and son on the Big island of Hawaii.

08/10/14

Gecko In Turks & Caicos

The island of Providenciales in Turks & Caicos is one of my favorite vacation spots and I have been there many times. The sand is pinkish white and as soft as talcum powder. The sea is the perfect color of turquoise and crystal clear. When you enter the water all you see are little fish and if lucky, while swimming, the local dolphin that comes over to greet visitors.

Turks & Caicos beach plants and sea beyond. Photo by Susan Newman

Turks & Caicos beach plants and sea beyond. Photo by Susan Newman

On one of my trips as I was unpacking my things, I noticed a little gecko in my room and just left him to wander around. At the time, I didn’t know that much about them, but he/she was so cute, I didn’t bother it. Over the next few days, my friends were complaining about the mosquitoes and kept asking me, how come you aren’t bitten up like we are? I didn’t really know.

This went on for days until I told them about the little gecko in my room, who like to come inside where the temperature is to their liking and are safe from predators. OH! They said, it’s eating the mosquitoes in your room, that’s why you aren’t having the problem we are.

Tropical House Gecko (Hemidactylus mabouia) by Thomas Brown

Tropical House Gecko (Hemidactylus mabouia) by Thomas Brown

Well, it is many years later and I know more about geckos, salamanders and frogs. I wanted to share this little story because most people wonder how the decline of frogs and amphibians directly effects them. As you can see, just one gecko in my room on vacation, made all the difference for me having a more comfortable trip than my friends. Just imagine how insects will bother us if there are no frogs or geckos around to eat them?