SAVE THE FROGS! is proud to be building wetlands at schools. We are merging conservation and education by building wetlands that will be used for outdoor education. More importantly, we are building wetlands in urban environment. Historically, the majority of humans lived in rural areas where they farmed and hunted regularly. In 1800, only three percent of the world’s population lived in cities. Today the majority of people live in cities. It is expected that by 2050, seventy percent of humans will live in an urban environment. These are unprecedented rates of urbanization. As we grow further removed from necessary natural sources such as water and food there is a false sense of disconnection from nature. That is one of the reasons it is important to incorporate things like wetlands in our urban environment to increase connections to nature. By building wetlands at schools and getting the students involved in every step from design to construction, we foster a connection with nature that will later lead them to vote environmentally friendly or even become amphibian biologists!
Building wetlands at schools is never an easy task. Jesse Chang from the nonprofit City Net reached out to SAVE THE FROGS! and asked us to be a partner in constructing a wetland at Garvey Intermediate School. He has been working hard for about a year, talking to the right people in order to get approvals. Because of his hard work and determination we gained approvals and built a wetland at Garvey Intermediate School on October 7th, 2017.
Jessie Chang and Kathlyn Osagie at Garvey Intermediate School wetland construction day.
Kathlyn Osagie giving instructions on how deep to dig the wetland basin.
Over 40 students came out to volunteer on a Saturday to build the wetland. They were enthusiastic to learn how to measure the wetland basin using the construction level and re-flag the site after the bobcat removed a lot of soil. The students helped rake the basin once the bobcat was finished removing soil.
Kathlyn teaching students how to hold the measuring rod to read elevations.
Justin (left) is a dedicated SAVE THE FROGS! supporter. He believes in our cause to build wetlands for amphibians. He raised over $1,000 for the Garvey wetland project! We were lucky to have Justin and his family join us on construction day, as well as Eitan (in red). You can support Justin’s frog-saving efforts here.
“We had a blast building the wetlands.”
— Sheri S.
This is what the Garvey school looked like before construction:
This is what the Garvey school looked like immediately after construction:
We look forward to sharing photos of the wetland once the rains come and fill it!
