Clarification on the purpose of our frog pond proposal

Following on from Vanessa's earlier post Share the love, we felt some clarification was needed as to what exactly the intended purpose of the frog pond was.
When we first came up with the idea of building a frog pond as our innovative solution to the cane toad problem, we had quite different ideas in mind as to what the purpose of the pond was to be. Through the course of our research investigations, our original intentions have since changed. Below is a clarification of the subsequent changes to our original proposal, and how our research has led us to change our intentions ase to how we use our frog pond.

Originally, our intention was to design and build our frog pond, obtain some tadpole eggs from a frog club in our native area, and start breeding native frog species in the pond, thereby increasing the population in the local area. Members of the community, having followed our suggestions and built frog ponds in their own backyards, would then be able to come to the school pond and collect tadpoles to then take back to their frog pond and breed their own frogs, thereby encouraging more into the environment. But this proposal did not really help stem the cane toad population in our local area, and might also upset the ecosystem by introducing large numbers of frogs into the area that were not previously there.

Following our investigations, we now instead propose that our building of a frog pond will encourage local native animals to the area that can breed of their own accord. This includes cane toads, who are attracted to the same sorts of environments as frogs.
Through the regular maintenance and observation of the pond and surrounding area, we will then be able to monitor for cane toads and their eggs, which we can then take the necessary steps to remove and destroy (the eggs, not the toads!). We feel that this "exclusion" method is the most logistical, sustainable and ethical solution to the cane toad problem in our local area.
Please feel free to contact us if you would like more information.

(image taken from http://mybackyard.info/backyardblog/?p=99)

Dinner anyone?

See the National Geographic Kids website link for details and more pics

Not all countries have the same toad issues. Because the toad is not an indigenous species in Australia, we are facing some very serious environmental and ecological concerns in protecting our indigenous habitats and species.

But in other countries, particularly on the African continent, frogs and toads are so integral to the human diet that native species are now becoming threatened.

The National Geographic Kids website has a great article about this issue: Fried or dried, frogs are popular food in African markets.
Take a look and see if your appetite is whet.

Can you draw your own picture of what a cane toad looks like?

Ben's neighbour Abby, who is 9, drew him this nice little picture, showing a toad in her back garden.
Can you draw your own picture of what a cane toad looks like?

Making a frog pond model!

We had a great day on Saturday, making a model frog pond! As with all research and learning of new skills, it took us a fair few hours - 6 would you believe - to work through all the techniques and materials in order to make a model of a pond which would suit Ben's mum's back yard. We had the specifications, and the lay of the land, we just needed to represent what we had been researching and imagining.

And here is the result!

In keeping with our sustainability concept, all the materials used for this model came from secondhand shops, our collective hoard of art supplies that were waiting for a good use, and what we could find around Vanessa's yard. We are really happy with results.

• How would you make a model of a frog pond? 
• What other features would you include?

Frogs and Toads in Aboriginal culture

How important are frogs to Indigenous Australian culture, and how are they depicted in their artwork?

The two images here are by Indigenous artist Malcolm Maloney Jagammara, both entitled ""Frog Dreaming (Purda Punta)"

Jagamarra's art evolved from his tribe’s ceremonies. Aboriginal paintings were originally daubed on the ground and on the bodies of the people and were therefore not preserved. Since 1971 they have been preserved in the form of acrylic paint on canvas.

"It has given everyone a chance to learn about Aboriginal Dreamings", says Jagamarra. "Our art reflects not just the land but its mythology, song and dance". The symbols are called "iconography" and are the oldest in the world.

These 2 paintings depict iconography referring to the Frog (Purda Punta) Dreaming. This Dreaming evolves from the Lander River, 200 miles north-west of Alice Springs. The Frog (Purda Punta) buries itself underground in the Lander river system and surfaces only, when the river floods (can be up to seven years).

See more about Jagamaraa on this youtube video

(information sourced from http://www.authaboriginalart.com.au/Artist.asp?Artist=Malcolm%20Jagamarra; http://www.aboriginalartstore.com.au/aboriginal-art/malcolm-maloney-jagamarra/frog-dreaming-purda-punta/index.php; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sgtYmuChO4)