The Amphibian Foundation's Frog Blog

Critter Camp Receives 2019 Best of Decatur Award Decatur Award Program Honors the Achievement DECATUR September 21, 2019 -- Critter Camp has been selected for the 2019 Best of Decatur Award in the Science Academy category by the Decatur Award Program. Each year, the Decatur Award Program identifies companies that we believe have achieved exceptional marketing success in their local community and business category. These are local companies that enhance the positive image of small business through service to their customers and our community. These exceptional companies help make the Decatur area a great place to live, work and play. Various sources of information were gathered and analyzed to choose the winners in each category. The 2019 Decatur Award Program focuses on quality, not quantity. Winners are determined based on the information gathered both internally by the Decatur Award Program and data provided by third parties. About Decatur Award Program The Dec...

The current U.S. administration has de-prioritized wildlife and habitat conservation, and has backed away from the global discussion on finding solutions to the climate change crises. There are discussions around the status of the U.S. Endangered Species Act, potentially dismantling it, but many species do not have time to wait for these discussions to shift or end. Action is needed now. This is a grim situation at the national level and many organizations—including Atlanta’s Amphibian Foundation (AF)—are hard at work continuing to support much-needed conservation efforts. In 2016, after 20 years in amphibian biology and conservation, I, with my wife Crystal founded the Amphibian Foundation . We have observed the urgency first hand — at the global level and at home. It is harder for our 11 year old son Anthony to simply go outside and find a frog than it was for us when we were young. We knew that the amphibian community would benefit from an organization with ...

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 th...

Anthony Mandica, Critter Camp Assistant outside of Blue Heron Nature Preserve Linda and Lauren, Blue Heron Instructors are guiding a Bearded Dragon feeding exercise Lauren, one of the amazing Blue Heron instructors allowing a Gargoyle Gecko to climb all over her! A Bird's-eye view of the Bearded Dragon feeding exercise For more information or to register for Critter Camp this summer, see our website: critter-camp.org