I am not doing very much to combat climate change. I know more about it than the vast majority of people, and yet all I can bring myself to do is use a single paper towel instead of three when I dry my hands in the bathroom. Since I learned about climate change, I have felt helpless, callous and angry with myself for feeling this way. The reason for these feelings is that there aren’t very many ways for me to easily make a difference. Sure, I can limit my use of plastic bottles, hot water, overly packaged food etc. but none of these actions feel very connected to making a difference. Today I happened across a program called FrogWatch USA that is one of the most hands on, connected to our surroundings programs I have ever heard of, and the premise is very interesting.
FrogWatch USA is a national program that tracks data about the population levels and species densities of frogs, collecting its data from ordinary citizens like you and me. They organize over a thousand volunteer training workshops around the country annually, teaching volunteers how to identify frog and toad calls. It is easy to become a volunteer, and only requires about three minutes per day of work. Volunteers simply listen for a few minutes from their deck or back lawn, rate the intensity of certain frog noises on a scale of one to three, and enter their data online. As a reward for their work, all of the data is public and available to look at and analyze through a well designed web application.
Frogs are particularly important creatures to track for a number of reasons. Their population levels have been in drastic decline in recent years; their populations falling more quickly than any birds or mammals according to the IUCN. They are important links in the food chain. They control insect populations and are also a staple in the diet of many fish and birds.
This data collection method is an example of citizen science, where everyday people, without having to put in a lot of work can make tangible contributions to science. Because of the citizens collective work, scientists are able to obtain infinitely more data than they could on their own. FrogWatch is a fantastic opportunity for children to get directly involved in conservation from an early age, planting the idea in their minds their surrounding environment is incredibly important and needs close attention and hard work to maintain. Besides, what child isn’t interested in frogs?
Sources:
"Amphibian Conservation." Association of Zoos and Aquariums -. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.
"FrogWatch USA." Association of Zoos and Aquariums. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.
"Zoo Needs Vol's to Help Track Frogs, Toads." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.
I believe there is a very similar program in place to monitor bird migration across North America. People monitor the birds around their house in the same way they do for the frogs, with all the data being collected by a central agency. I think it's really cool when you can include the general population in real science, and the most important point is that having a large support base is key to securing grants or public support to better understand climate change.
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