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)

The frog pond begins...

...and so the pond designing process begins. Based on site suitability (Annie lives in an apartment, Vanessa lives in a rental property), we have chosen Ben's backyard for our frog pond.
We've mapped it all out (see image at left) and decided upon a nice little section in the back far-left corner of the property as the location of our frog pond.
This area meets all the requirements as posted earlier under "notes on frog pond design": it is a nice shady area that also receives a little sunlight; it's locatred right beside a mulched garden bed / compost heap, so will attract plenty of insects (this area of the yard is absolutely RAMPANT with mosquitos during the wet seasons); and it will be easy to make it shallow with a large surface area.
See below for images of the site.

The Cycles of Life

One of the issues that we need to research is how native frogs and toads differ at points throughout the life cycle, as identifying the differences between frogs and toads is crucial for creating a native frog friendly habitat. There are lots of different native frog species and they are all slightly different. One important tip that we learnt is that cane toadpoles are always black, while native tadpoles are never purely black. Annie practiced some observational drawing as she was learning about the differences between the cane toad and the green tree frog. What differences can you see?

Cane toad life cycle

Green tree frog life cycle

Frogger - Why did the cane toad cross the road?

Remember the old computer game "Frogger"? Released in 1981 by Konami and nowadays regarded as a classic, the object of the game was to try and get frogs to their homes one by one. To do this, each frog had to try and avoid cars while crossing a busy road, and then navigating a river full of hazards.

Think about how many cane toads you see squashed on the road. What time of year do you tend to see them the most? Is it a wet season or a dry season, a warm season or a cold one?
Why do you think they are on the road - are they trying to get to the other side, or are they trying to warm their bodies up on the bitumen that's been heating up in the sun all day?

Uses of the cane toad

Attempts have been made to make use of dead cane toads, which can number in the thousands and cause hygiene problems. This includes processing the carcasses into liquid fertilisers.
Bufotenine toxin produced by Bufo marinus is used as an aphrodisiac and hair-restorer in Japan.
In mainland China it is used to lower the heart rate of patients undergoing cardiac surgery.
The toxin is used by South American Indians on hunting arrows. The toxin is sometimes used as a narcotic by some tribes.
Cane toads were used for pregnancy testing in humans. A woman's urine was injected subcutaneously into the lymph glands of a male toad, resulting in spermatazoa becoming present in the toad's urine if the woman was pregnant.
Their skin can also be made into leather, which has spawned a humourous range of novelty toad goods (left).

Here are some more examples of cane toad leather...

Cane toad leather caps

NSW artist Linelle Stepto uses cane toad leather in her art

(Adapted from the Global Invasive Species Database; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cane_toad; http://toadfactory.com/)

notes on frog pond design

Get Burke's Backyard's fact sheet for this beauty!

Burke's Backyard has a great fact sheet on how to make your own frog pond (picture above). Check it out here,

http://www.burkesbackyard.com.au/factsheets/Pets-Pet-Care-and-Native-Animals/Building-a-Frog-Pond/3090

• Pond needs to be above ground level to prevent cane toads from breeding in it
• The hole should slope gradually from the edge of the pond to an average depth of about 30cm, suitable for small aquatic animals.Tadpoles prefer shallow water with a large surface area
• Tadpoles are sensitive to heat, so pond needs to be positioned where it will get some shade
• Water must be chlorine-free and chemical-free. Stand tap water in sunlight for five days so chlorine can dissipate. Don’t use chlorine-neutralizing drops
• Native water plants such as nardoo or reeds provide shelter, rest areas and food for tadpoles and adult frogs. They also help to balance the ecosystem, and keep the water clean. Take a little time to research the most suitable plants. Different plants are indigenous (locally native) to different areas and attract different frogs.For example, the Common Froglet (Crinia signifera) loves Creeping Boobialla (Myoporum parvifolium).
• Mulched garden beds and a compost heap will attract insects, which will be food for your frogs
• Blue Eye Fish (Pseudmugil signifer) from south-east Queensland eat mosquito larvae, but not tadpoles. Keep three or four of these fish in your frog pond and feed them once a week with fish food to supplement their diet
• Once the tadpoles develop front legs, they need to be able to leave the water.
• Ground dwelling frogs particularly need a rough slope they can climb easily, or they may drown. Provide rocks or branches sloping gently from the water to the banks of the frog pond

Feeding tadpoles

• Feed tadpoles boiled lettuce. Use the unwanted outer dark green leaves. Make sure to wash the leaves thoroughly to remove pesticides, then boil them (15-20 minutes) until they become soft.
• Feed tadpoles as much as they will eat every 1-3 days.
• Remove leftover food from the frog pond before re-feeding the tadpoles. Too much food fouls the water; not enough food and the tadpoles will eat each other !
• Fish food is a good supplement for mature tadpoles

(Information adapted from http://www.wettropics.gov.au/; http://www.up2meforkids.com.au/extras/downloads/223.Backyards%20Give%20a%20Frog%20a%20Home.pdf; http://www.ozwatergardens.com.au/frog-ponds)

Representations of Toads and Frogs in popular culture

Poor old toads get such a bad wrap. Think of depictions of toads in society, literature, old wives tales. Have you ever seen a toad play "the good guy"?

Some examples of this are:

• Mr Toad from Kenneth Graeme's "The Wind in the Willows". The book tells the story of 4 anthropomorphic characters, one of which is a Toad, the wealthiest character and owner of Toad Hall. Although good-natured, Toad is impulsive and conceited, eventually imprisoned for theft, dangerous driving and impertinence to the rural police. He is prone to obsessions and crazes, such as punting, houseboating, and horse-drawn caravans, each of which in turn he becomes bored with and drops. Several chapters of the book chronicle his escape from prison, disguised as a washer-woman.
• Tiddalik the frog, a legend from the dreamtime mythology of Indigenous Australians. In the legend, Tiddalik awoke one morning with an unquenchable thirst, and began to drink until all the fresh water was greedily consumed. Creatures and plant life everywhere began to die due to lack of moisture. Other animals conspired against Tiddalik, and devised a plan for him to release all of the water he had consumed. This was successfully coordinated by a wise old Wombat, when Nabunum the eel made Tiddalik laugh when he tied himself in comical shapes. As Tiddalik laughed, the water rushed out of him to replenish the lakes, swamps and rivers. The legend of Tiddalik is not only an important story of the Dreamtime, but has been the subject of popular modern children's books. In some Aboriginal cultures, Tiddalik is known as "Molok". (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiddalik)
• The use of the cane toad as a mascot for the Queensland State of Origin rugby league team. http://www.more.nsw.gov.au/news/state-origin-stop-march-cane-toad
• In an episode of "The Simpsons", entitled Bart Vs Australia, the invasive nature of the cane toad is referenced when Bart releases his pet frog into the wild, which multiplies at an exponential rate.

• It is a common old wives tale that handling a toad will result in a person getting warts on their hands. This originated since the toad's own skin is bumpy and appears to have warts on it. However, warts are caused by a type of virus and handling a toad cannot give you warts. Another old wives tale thought to cure thrush was to hold a live frog with its head in the patient's mouth. As it breathed, so it drew the disease away and into itself. The dried body of a frog worn in a silk bag around the neck was also thought to avert epilepsy and other fits.

• The author Morris Gleitzman has written numerous books of toad comedy and adventure. Have you read any of his books? This one, Toad Rage, is an epic story of a slightly squashed young cane toad's quest for the truth about a missing friend.

• Humorous videos such as "What happened to Baz?" (viewer discretion advised - language / scenes that may upset)

• And then there are the lovely frogs from childhood stories...

Can you think of any other depictions of frogs or toads in popular culture, either positive or negative?