The Amphibian Foundation's Frog Blog

We had a wonderful time celebrating the Grand Opening of our tropical frog rainchamber a week or so ago. Lots of people came out to help us celebrate, and we introduced the first 20 frogs into the enclosure. Here are some incredible photographs from the event by Tess Yaney , of Tess Yaney Photography . Among other things, Tess is the official AF Photographer. People arriving to the event, but were distracted by all the exhibits in the hallway: Mata Mata Turtle, Roti Island Snack-neck Turtle, and an African Lungfish. Also, a few small enclosures with Poison Frogs. To learn about the construction of the Rainchamber itself, click here . A close-up of the plants in the rainchamber. Many of these plants were nursed from trimmings and discarded plants from my time at Atlanta Botanical Garden. Available space for frogs in this Rainchamber is 6 x 6 x 3. Before the 'release' I gave a little tour of the Rainchamber and explained its form, function and utility for am

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It’s my privilege to post on the Amphibian Foundation's frogblog and to offer any support I can for the amazing work of Mark Mandica, who’s level of commitment to amphibian conservation I greatly admire. I have known Mark for over 5 years now and the more I know of this man the more impressed I am with all he does. Establishing AF, and all the associated amphibian conservation, teaching and engagement work, is a real credit to him and such an incredible achievement. Although much of Mark’s great conservation work focuses on native US species, I also know that he has a real passion for tropical species. It is through this shared interest that we first met and particularly with regards neotropical tree frogs. Much our outreach and engagement work with the younger generation here in Manchester involves getting them outdoors to generate interest in the natural world.   Introducing the next generation to nature: Me and Sylvia pond-dipping in the local park. Related Links:

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Last year, ARC provided scholarships to urban youth from underserved communities in Atlanta so they could attend   Critter Camp   for an entire week for only $25 (normally $275-350). This year, in large part because of   support from our community , we were able to send more kids to camp for free! Without these scholarships provided by ARC and our partners at the US Forest Service, the kids that we’re able to send to Critter Camp may never get exposure to the amphibians, reptiles, or their habitats, and we believe that exposing children to the outdoors early and often fosters a greater respect for the environment and a greater investment in protecting these places and the species that rely on them throughout their lives.  Camp founders and teachers, Crystal and Mark Mandica from the Amphibian Foundation teach kids about over 100 different amphibians and reptiles from around the world, how to safely handle them, and how to identify frog species by their calls and tadpo

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Tomorrow, we are launching the first #GlassFrogWeek to highlight a beautiful and fascinating group of frogs known as the centrolenids. This has been a favorite group of ours for many years and we have had the privilege of working with a few species of Glass Frog over the years as well. Glass Frog illustration by Katie Karl. This shirt is available on Katie's Etsy store , with sales opening for #GlassFrogWeek. A portion of the proceeds will support the Amphibian Foundation. #GlassFrogWeek will also feature the incredible work of Katie Karl , a gifted artist and dedicated conservationist at Blue Iguana Art, who recently created this splendid graphic of the Granulated Glass Frog, Cochranella granulosa , and offered to donate a portion of the proceeds from the sale of the shirt to the Amphibian Foundation. You can purchase the shirt here. I asked Katie to tell us a bit about herself: I am 19 years old and I have had a love for reptiles and amphibians for almost my entire