12/20/09

A Frog's Dream…Save Our Home

As the year ends, and before we take a short break for the holidays, we’d like to show you the new poster we’ve created to promote our cause. Proceeds from the sale of the poster will go toward amphibian conservation organizations and toward developing free and inexpensive educational materials for kids.

Poster designed by Susan Newman, Illustration © Sherry Neidigh

Poster designed by Susan Newman, Illustration © Sherry Neidigh

The poster is a unique collaboration between my partner Susan (who is a graphic designer when she isn’t saving frogs) and illustrator Sherry Neidigh. Sherry approached us after seeing our blog and offered to donate one of her illustrations for our use. We were thrilled to receive this exquisite illustration to promote our cause.

Susan played around with various ideas, but what struck her about this illustration was its dreamy quality. She came up with the text, “A Frog’s Dream….Save Our Home.” I think these words are perfect. That frog looks so content immersed in his pond, surrounded by dragonflies and lily pads.

A bit about Sherry:

Sherry has been drawing animals since she was 2 years old. She attended the Ringling School of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida, and has worked for Hallmark Cards.

Sherry’s clients include the National Wildlife Federation (Your Big Backyard), Highlights for Children, Sylvan Dell Publishing, and NorthWord Publisher. She works in gouache, watercolor, colored pencils, airbrush, and pen and ink. Her latest book is Count Down to Fall by Fran Hawk, published by Sylvan Dell Publishers. Sherry lives in Simpsonville, South Carolina, outside of Greenville, with her two dogs, Harper and Bisbee. You can learn more about her by visiting her charming website.

Susan and I are so grateful for the use of Sherry’s beautiful illustration. We hope you love the poster as much as we do. Susan also designed a t-shirt with the illustration. Both are available in our store.

Happy Holidays!

08/10/09

Photo Contest Update

Susan and I are thrilled by the many entries we’ve received for the Frogs Are Green photo contest! If you haven’t sent in a photo, you still have time: the deadline for sending in entries is September 1st. So as you go off on vacation to the lake, woods, or mountains, keep your eye out for photogenic amphibians. Or if you are having a staycation, consider spending a day checking out your local area for frogs. I hope you will also take a little time to browse through the wonderful photos we’ve received. The thumbnails of the photos are along the right side of the blog. If you click on the photo you will see the photographers’ names as well as additional photos they have submitted.

Wood Frog, White Mountains, NH

Wood Frog, White Mountains, NH

08/2/09

When Irish Toads Are Smiling

Recently I read on the Friends of the Irish Environment website about a small scale project that’s made a big difference for the endangered Natterjack toad, the only toad species native to Ireland. Only about 8,000 Natterjack toads remain in isolated pockets on Ireland’s Dingle peninsula.

One of the main problems for the Natterjack Toad is habitat loss. With a reduction in aquatic ecosystems—ponds, vernal pools, bogs—due to development,  populations of toads have become isolated from each other, and eventually their numbers will continue to dwindle.

To help the toads colonize new habitats, the Irish National Parks and Wildlife Service launched a project called Toad in the Hole. They pay farmers to dig and maintain ponds on their land. So far the program has been a success. The farmers are motivated, not just by the money—the ponds take quite a bit of work to maintain. Rather they are motivated because they want to help conserve the species.

As Michael Foley, a landowner from Rossbeigh, says, “I got involved purely to conserve the species. The people of Kerry are very proud of the toads. They are part of the country’s culture.” His pond is now teeming with toadlets and tadpoles.

This project makes so much sense to me, and yet it didn’t cost a huge amount of money. Each farmer is paid the US equivalent of about $1000 a year to maintain the pond. I think similar projects could be implemented in many areas where amphibians’ natural habitat has been destroyed.

Sometimes the problems facing amphibians seem insurmountable, but the solutions don’t necessarily have to be complicated.

A young, not fully grown Natterjack Toad. Photo by Piet Spaans.

A young, not fully grown, Natterjack Toad. Photo by Piet Spaans.

05/25/09

Be a FrogWatcher this summer!

This summer, consider becoming a FrogWatch USA volunteer, a Citizen Science Monitoring Program sponsored by the National Wildlife Federation. Participating in this program gives YOU the opportunity to help frogs and toads by collecting information essential for protecting them.

The FrogWatch site has a map of the US that lists local frog species. It also contains information about ordering CDs with frog calls from your region, lists of books to help you identify frog species, and all you need to know to become a successful Frog Watcher. If you’ve always wanted to do animal conservation fieldwork, here’s your chance to do it in your own neighborhood—maybe even your own backyard!

This summer I’ve been doing some informal Frog Watching with my family. We counted 17 small toads on one hike in the Norvin Green State Forest in New Jersey. We also went on a hike in Minnewaska State Park near New Paltz, New York, last weekend. At the nature center there, I picked up a pamphlet about frogs and toads of New York, where I learned that the hearty trilling I heard up in a pine tree wasn’t an invisible bird. It was a tiny Grey Tree Frog with a big voice! We also saw lots of tadpoles in a pond in various stages of metamorphosis.

Wherever you are this summer, keep an eye out for the amphibians!

Gray treefrog clinging to clover. Photographed by Lisa Miller at her home in northeastern Wisconsin. Courtesy of savethefrogs.com

Gray treefrog clinging to clover. Photographed by Lisa Miller at her home in northeastern Wisconsin. Courtesy of www.savethefrogs.com