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Amphibian Crisis Actions

Amphibian Crisis

What every family can do to help protect amphibians!

Find books on frogs to discover why they sing loudly, hear well and stay up late	Check out an amphibian field guide from your local library and learn about the frogs in your area	Invite a bug-zapping amphibian into your backyard by placing an overturned pot as a home
Reduce the amount of waste your family produces by buying products with less packaging and taking your own bag to the store	Use water-saving devices in your home in areas such as your toilet, taps and showerhead and turn off the water while you brush your teeth or do the dishes		Save energy by turning off lights, radios and the TV when you are not using them
Use less chemical pesticides on your lawn to keep amphibians healthy		Build a pond, plant native shrubs, and leave leaf litter and logs in your yard to create a habitat for frogs	Plan a family outing to a local pond to hear different species of frogs sing their love songs to one another
	Have your school adopt a frog at your local zoo or nature center	Keep pets contained so that they don't harm the amphibians near your home	Find natural alternatives to household chemicals so these toxins don't end up in amphibian habitats
Ask a local naturalist to talk to your class about native amphibians or to take your class on a nature walk to a local pond		Instead of capturing frogs from the wild for pets, observe their behavior in nature and allow them to continue their important work	Encourage your cafeteria to use reusable containers and recycled napkins
Make donations to a wildlife conservation group to adopt an acre of rainforest and help conserve amphibian populations	Look for frogs near your home, but don't touch them. Chemicals from the soaps and lotions we use can hurt their delicate skin		Plan an amphibian adventure to a zoo with your family. Zoos are a great place to see frogs from other countries like South America, Asia and Africa
Play the game leap frog with your class and each time you leap say one fact about frogs	Take part in a local pond or stream cleanup to ensure that native amphibians will have a clean home	Do a homework project and let your classmates know how important amphibians are to the environment

What every zoo can do to help protect amphibians!

• If each zoo helps to save at least 1 amphibian species (smaller zoos might do less while larger zoos will do more) then hundreds of species will be saved from extinction.
• In 2008, AArk will lead zoos in a globally coordinated public awareness campaign “2008: The Year of the Frog.”
• Expand and support capacity building (facilities and expertise), at home institutions and in range countries.
• Assess, upgrade and expand amphibian facilities, and send staff to participate in training courses or internships at institutions with existing capacity, or sponsor someone in need.
• Immediately support and expand existing efforts, such as rescue programs, field surveys, regional programs (e.g. SSP, EEP, ASMP, APP), and local amphibian conservation projects.
• Participate in the global public awareness campaign through your website, zoo graphics, education materials, and media releases. Do your visitors know that we are experiencing the greatest species conservation challenge in the history of humanity?
• Participate in the global capital campaign to support your own programs and the global coordination through AArk.

Learn more about the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) 2008 campaign, Year of the Frog, a major conservation effort to address the amphibian extinction crisis!

Read the Year of the Frogs' "Top 8 things you can do in 2008 to help amphibians."