The SAVE THE FROGS! World Summit took place online April 27th & 28th, 2018, in celebration of the 10th Annual Save The Frogs Day! During the World Summit, we:
- Celebrated the 10th Annual Save The Frogs Day and our organization’s first decade of protecting amphibian populations and promoting a society that respects and appreciates nature and wildlife.
- Learned all about amphibians as well as past, present & future amphibian conservation projects.
- Enjoyed live presentations by SAVE THE FROGS! staff, volunteers and environmental professionals from around the world.
- Had a fabulous, frog-filled, unforgettable time connecting with fellow frog enthusiasts from around the world on this momentous occasion.
SAVE THE FROGS! supporters are spread around the planet. The World Summit brought our community of frog savers together; provided enjoyable and informative amphibian education; increased connection between SAVE THE FROGS! supporters; and facilitated networking and partnership opportunities for amphibian conservationists. We are pleased to deliver you the recordings of all the presentations here in the SAVE THE FROGS! Membership Site and we hope you find them useful!
“I wanted to thank you for all the wonderful information. Very informative and interesting presenters and topics.”
— Mindy Meadows, Tennessee
Presentations
Dr. Kerry Kriger: Ten Years of SAVE THE FROGS!
SAVE THE FROGS! Founder Dr. Kerry Kriger discusses highlights from the first decade of SAVE THE FROGS!
Biraj Shrestha: Saving Nepal's Frogs
Longtime SAVE THE FROGS! volunteer Biraj Shrestha discusses his amphibian conservation efforts in the Himalayas.
Dr. Kerry Kriger: Saving The Frogs In India & Bangladesh
“SAVE THE FROGS! Founder Dr. Kerry Kriger will discuss a decade’s worth of amphibian conservation efforts in India & Bangladesh, including photos from his recent visit to the two countries, in which he gave 21 presentations on amphibian conservation, at schools, universities and government agencies.
More info:
www.billing.savethefrogs.com/india
www.billing.savethefrogs.com/bangladesh
Godwin Chinemerem: The Imperative of Conserving Amphibians in Nigeria
From the studies of Sanders in the 1940’s, Nigeria has one of the richest diversity of amphibians in the world, but very little or nothing is known about them. I strongly believe if nothing is done about this ugly trend, we will lose these amphibians, because we can not conserve what we don’t know.
Gilbert Adum & Kerry Kriger: Saving Ghana's Frogs (The Journey So Far) "Opportunities and Challenges in Saving Ghana's Frogs
My talk will highlight some remarkable achievements of SAVE THE FROGS! Ghana, as well as challenges we should be addressing to save in time a third of the country’s frogs that are facing extinction. SAVE THE FROGS! Ghana, the first overseas branch of USA-based SAVE THE FROGS! was founded in 2011 in response to massive declines of frog populations. To date, we removed invasive weeds and replanted critical frog habitats with over 20,000 native trees. We have also provided beekeeping to local community members to reduce their reliance on frogs’ habitats. To involve and educate children and young people, we also established the Sui Amphibian Conservation Education Centre (SACEC), and stocked with wild animal books, toys and computers. These efforts have yielded many important successes such as bringing back the iconic Giant Squeaker Frog (Arthroleptis krokosua) from the brink of extinction, and rediscovery of Allen’s Slippery Frog (Conraua alleni) after it disappeared for over half a century. For these efforts the Executive Director (Gilbert Adum) received the prestigious Green Oscars (2016) and, honoured with a Chieftaincy title. However, SAVE THE FROGS! Ghana faces several challenges including the acute lack of funding; addressing such challenges will bring us closer to our goal of saving a third of the country’s frogs that are threatened with extinction.
www.billing.savethefrogs.com/ghana
Lily Maynard: F is for Frogs in Decline (Engaging New Audiences with the Amphibian Report Card)
The project team from the Emerging Wildlife Conservation Leaders program will present their work creating a new website, called the Amphibian Report Card. For the EWCL program, participants develop their leadership, project management, and conservation campaign skills through in-depth training and project creation. This team consists of six conservationists who are applying their commitment to conservation to this new, innovative project that will engage the public around the threats amphibians face and action opportunities for people to get involved in their conservation. This amphibian team includes: Valerie Akuredusenge – Program Director of Conservation Heritage-Turambe, Carson Barylak – Campaigns Officer with the International Fund for Animal Welfare, Reese Brewer – Lead Wildlife Specialist at White Oak Conservation, Robb Krehbiel – Northwest Representative for Defenders of Wildlife, Lily Maynard – Conservation Program Manager at Disney’s Animals, Science, and Environment, and Melissa Ocana – Project Manager in the Department of Environmental Conservation at Umass Amherst. This team is excited to share their project with the Save The Frogs! World Summit, including opportunities for people to get involved in the website!
Chris Berry: Saving The Frogs in the USA in the Era of Deregulation
There has been an unprecedented effort to reverse regulatory protection over the past 16 months in the United States. From the Clean Air Act to the Endangered Species Act, our environment hasn’t been without regulatory protection on this scale for many years. With ever-increasing human population pressure, industrial growth and resource scarcity, the threat to our environment – and the critters who depend on functioning ecosystems – is greater than ever. In spite of this, there are things folks can do to in their own backyards and beyond that will help mitigate the current regulatory backsliding in the USA and help Make America Green Again.
Chris Berry is the Watershed Compliance Manager for the City of Santa Cruz, California Water Department. He has worked in environmental sciences in NGO, private and government sectors in a variety of capacities since 1986. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Biology (with a concentration in Aquatic Biology) from the University of California – Santa Barbara and his Master’s degree in Environmental Management (with a concentration in nonpoint source water pollution impact assessment) from the University of San Francisco. He currently serves on several County of Santa Cruz advisory bodies and is the current chair of the County’s Fish and Wildlife Advisory Commission and Environmental Health Appeals Commission. Current projects includes a multi-species habitat conservation plan (including the California red-legged frog (Rana draytonii)), anadromous salmonid conservation work, invasive species policy and management, open space management and a variety of water resources projects.
Emily Vorek: The SAVE THE FROGS! 90-Day Challenge and Citizen Science
The SAVE THE FROGS! 90-Day Challenge and how it has influenced me as a citizen scientist
Gerry Marantelli: Frog time - are we moving too fast?
Gerry has lived a life of frogs, traveled the world, held extinction in his hand and even sometimes reversed it. His work over 30 years in breeding and reintroduction of endangered frogs as well as investigating the causes of and solutions to frog declines has led him to conclusions that raise fear for the future of all amphibians – and their descendants, even us!
Dr. Krishan Kumar Sharma: Frog Conservation Initiatives in India
I have been associated with frogs since 1970 when these animals were in abundance. We used to observe in small village ponds and shallow water ditches. I sincerely realised their importance in 1977 during my doctoral research on spadefoot frogs (Sperotheca breviceps) and later on during my post-doctoral research programme in Europe and USA. India, one of the mega-biodiversity countries has about 350 species of amphibians including frogs, toads, urodeles and apodans. Frogs are facing various kind of threats for their survival; these includes anthropogenic as well as natural pressures. Still we don’t have complete documentation of anurans. Every month some new species or record is coming in publications. Tools of identification and assessment are obsolete. In 2004 I found bioacoustic tools for identification, assessment and monitoring of frogs. These modern tools using acoustic signals can help in identification of frogs in dense canopy and remote areas. These tools also help in quantification of data of success of initiatives such as SAVE THE FROGS!
Amanda Cooper: The Secret Ingredients For Frog Saving Success
Amanda is a freshman in high school. She has been volunteering and fundraising for SAVE THE FROGS! for almost five years and was the youngest student to complete the SAVE THE FROGS! 90-Day Challenge. She loves frogs and is excited to share what she knows at the STF! World Summit.
Chelsea Carson: Teaching Tomorrow's Frog Savers
SAVE THE FROGS! Ecotour Leader and long-time volunteer Chelsea Carson will talk about the importance of integrating amphibian conservation into all stages of education. She will discuss her experiences in environmental education with ages ranging from 2-72 and both within the USA and internationally.
Topics covered will include:
– school programs
– interactive lessons
– field outings
– ecotours
– research and
– community service projects.
Come with questions on how to engage your local school, community, or friend group in amphibian conservation efforts!
Dr. Kerry Kriger: The 2016 SAVE THE FROGS! Ghana Expedition
Join SAVE THE FROGS! Founder Dr. Kerry Kriger for a journey through Ghana, where SAVE THE FROGS! has its most active international branch (SAVE THE FROGS! Ghana). Featuring amazing photos from Africa and discussion on our projects there.
www.billing.savethefrogs.com/ghana
Dr. Nurul Islam and Abdur Razzaque: SAVE THE FROGS! Bangladesh
A discussion on SAVE THE FROGS! efforts in Bangladesh
