Build A Frog Pond!
Photos of ponds our supporters built | Frequently Asked Questions
Thanks for building a frog pond! Please be sure to inform us of your pond, we love to hear about our supporters taking action!
Introduction
SAVE THE FROGS! invites schools and homeowners to build frog ponds on their property and document the project and its successes through video, photos and stories, which will be posted online to educate and inspire others to do the same. With your help we can cover the globe with frog habitat and fill the night air with the soothing sounds of frog calls.
Habitat destruction is the number one cause of amphibian extinctions worldwide. Fortunately, homeowners and schools can help create new habitat for frogs! Building a backyard frog pond is a great way to give your local frog populations a boost.
And what better way to get kids interested in frogs than to have them build a frog pond behind their school? Their efforts will be rewarded when they see the first clutch of eggs in the pond, and when the first tadpoles metamorphose and trade in their aquatic existence for a terrestrial life! Plus, the lessons learned from the project align with many state's required science criteria.
"A pond is sure to be the most exciting element on school grounds".
--Kirk Meyer,
Executive Director, Green Schoolyard Network
Your mission
B
uild an amazing frog pond at your home or school. Get photos and/or videos of the construction, the frogs or anything else of interest. Tell us what you did. Tell us what happened. Tell us any good stories about your experience. Tell us what species showed up, not just of frogs but any wildlife. Be as detailed as you like (but long does not necessarily equal good!). If you have film editing skills or if there is a film department at your school, make a short documentary about your pond project. Finally, email us your best photos and your pond story! That's it! Go SAVE THE FROGS!
Please look at the photos of ponds our supporters built
The students of Visitacion Valley Middle School in San Francisco built this frog pond, which is now an active Pacific Chorus Frog breeding ground! Get inspired and learn how others built their frog ponds on our Frog Ponds Our Supporters Built webpage.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do we build a frog pond?
The Sage website has some great pond building tips, as does Pond Conservation and their Guide to Building Ponds. Also have a look at Froglife's Just Add Water pond page. Remember: clean water is key, so if possible, use rainwater instead of tap water! Please also check out webpage with photos of ponds our supporters built!
How do we get frogs in our new pond?
If you build it, they will come! Frogs like to wander the landscape in search of food and new breeding ponds. This is great for you, because if there are any frog populations in your area, chances are that a frog or two will find your nice new pond, and get straight down to business filling it up with eggs and tadpoles. We do not recommend you transport amphibians from elsewhere to populate your pond (and in some states it is actually illegal to move frogs around without a permit!).
What about mosquitoes?
Info from SAVE THE FROGS! Advisory Committee Member Shannon Curtis:
"Mosquito dunks are Bacillus thurigiensis that supposedly only
affect mosquito larvae. I find that a bit hard to believe, but
regardless this is one of the best and safest ways to deal with
mosquitoes. These are meant for still water, as moving water will just flush out the Bacillus. Actively removing standing water from downspouts, gutters and just about everwhere else in a 3 mile radius works too. I would highly discourage people from dumping fish into new environments. This is how non-natives and invasives thrive.
Provide a healthy aquatic environment, and nature will provide pest control for you."
I have land, but no time or energy to dig. Suggestions?
Contact a local school's science department and tell them about the contest. Offer them your land if they would like to bring a group of students out to do the construction.
My school won't allow the pond to be built. Help!!
No problem. Contact a local landowner and tell them about the contest. See if you can build the pond on their land. They get free labor and frogs on their property, and your students get a fun field trip to do the construction.
What if no frogs show up?
No problem. You'll still likely get diving beetles, Daphnia, dragonflies and other invertebrates, which make good frog food! Creating habitat is important and the frogs should eventually utilize the space.
Questions?
Don't be afraid to ask. Please contact us here.
"This is so awesome! I'm really looking forward to participating! And I'm spreading the word to all of my friends, too. :)"
--TurtleWoman797
Website design, photos & content by Kerry Kriger unless otherwise noted.
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SAVE THE FROGS! is a 501(c)(3) public charity, and
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Build A Frog Pond