School Community Environment Program

SCHOOL COMMUNITY ENVIRONMENT PROGRAM Frog Bog

Construction of the Frog Bog is an activity which has been proposed in response to concern about the decline in frog populations around the world due to habitat change, pollution, global warming and perhaps even the destruction of the ozone layer. Making the school grounds more frog-friendly is just part of 'thinking globally-acting locally'.

Index

Background Habitat design Curriculum ideas

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Background

What better place to provide a frog-friendly habitat than in the Courtyard of Water? Previous landscaping in the 'Growing Homes' landcare area included a 'bog garden' planted with moisture loving sedges and rushes. However, due to safety concerns this is designed to impede drainage for the sake of the plants but to have no open water which would benefit frogs or other amphibians.

The courtyard, however, is a more secure and controlled environment which is suited to development of a bog and shallow pond, although safety will be paramount in its design.

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Habitat Design

Most frogs spend most of their time on land, hiding by day and hunting by night, often far from the water. So a pond is not enough in frog-scaping - a whole habitat is required.

Essential ingredients include:

moisture - a bog and/or shallow pond with entry-exit ramps for marsh frogs, with the surroundings kept moist and mulched - a rainforest effect is best
food - surface leaves for pond frogs, nightlight for tree frogs, fly traps
shelter - hiding places for tree frogs away from sun and drying winds, for pond frogs reeds and other plants, for ground-dwelling frogs a compost heap to burrow in
safety from predators - no cats!
no toxic plants to drop leaves/needles into the pond/bog (including pines, oleanders)
insecticide-free zone - no bugs means no frogs!

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Curriculum ideas

Here are just a few ideas of how frogs might feature in teaching/learning activities across the curriculum:

Science - the biology of frogs - tadpoles etc, how are frogs different from toads?, life of amphibians - related animals (animal families, evolution etc)

Society and environment - why are frogs disappearing? - environmental change, pollution etc, how many species of frogs are endangered? what are people doing to stop this happening? how can a frog bog help? actually make a frog bog in the school grounds (design, plan, organise), do a poster (and a press release?) about frogs and how to protect them at home and at school

Maths/arts - make an origami frog and count folds, analyse shapes in the pattern for geometry, measure angles, do a budget for materials needed to build a frog bog

Health, sport and PE - story of the Green and Gold Bell Frog on the site of the Olympics in Sydney - what do we know about it? how has it been protected?; hopping like a frog - what muscles are we using?

English - poems and writings about frogs - read old ones (eg The Frog Prince, Beatrix Potter's
Jeremy Fisher etc) and write new ones (poems, stories, songs, plays, etc)

Languages other than English/multicultural - find myths and legends from other countries and cultures which are about or include frogs, what are frogs called in other languages?, do the French really eat frogs' legs?

Aboriginal studies - myths and legends about frogs

The arts - find pictures or other constructions of frogs in the newspaper (eg The Swamp cartoon) , video (eg Kermit), or in plays, commercials (Freddo Frog) etc. Make your own cartoon, drawing, sculpture, mobile, puppet, etc.

Information technology - Web search on frogs, use graphics software to draw and/or animate a frog, send an electronic postcard

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Resources

Web Links

Hop over to our page of Frogs and Wetlands Links for lots of great connections to information, ideas, activities and resources.

Books (Australian)

Australian Frogs: a natural history by M J Tyler - from Reed Books. An excellent introduction to the natural history and diversity of Australian frogs.

Raising Native Frogs by Alastair Bax (ISBN 0-9597032-9-2) - a booklet from RANA Inc - Restoring Australian Native Amphibians - based in Queensland. Full of sensible information on making a nursery, frog houses, fly traps and ponds, and on rescue, care and handling.

Attracting Frogs to your garden: creating an ideal habitat for native frogs in your own backyard by Kevin Casey (ISBN 0-9587628-0-5) - a booklet from Kimberley Publications in Queensland. Contains information on frog decline, basic biology, care and handling, the pond and frog-scaping, and attracting other wildlife.

Grow What Wet: constructing and planting ponds, pools and water gardens with over
600 moisture-loving Australian plants by Australian Plant Study Group (ISBN 0-17-006155-8)
- a comprehensive guide from containers to farm dams, published by Thomas Nelson Australia.

Contacts

The Victorian Frog Group was formed in 1994 to facilitate education and conservation while catering for a wide range of interests in Australian native frogs.
Postal: PO Box 424 BRUNSWICK Vic 3056 AUSTRALIA
Phone: 03- 354-4718

RANA Inc - Restoring Australian Native Amphibians
Postal: 42 Poinsettia St INALA Qld 4077 AUSTRALIA
Phone: 07-3372-1490

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To obtain information, to offer suggestions or just to say hello,
please write to Learnscapes at   mlb@rosella.apana.org.au
or   PO Box 128   JAMISON CENTRE   ACT   2614   AUSTRALIA

http://www.arandaps.act.edu.au/environment/activity/landcare/frogbog/index.htm
Last updated 8 November 1998