Over 90 people attended a recent forum in Newstead to learn about the importance of frogs, the need for more frog-friendly habitat, and the threats frogs face on a daily basis.

Organised by the North Central Catchment Management Authority (CMA), the forum coincided with International ‘Save the Frogs Day’ and helped meet the growing community demand for knowledge about the natural environment.

Damian Wells, Chief Executive Officer, said “We continue to be thrilled by the thirst the community has for information about the natural environment. Whether it is identifying native grasses, protecting the platypus in local waterways, or enhancing habitat for native fish, the community continues to overwhelmingly support our events.”

“This is clearly demonstrated by the fact that participants travelled from across our region to attend the event, with others coming from Eltham and Seymour - outside our region.

“Frog populations are important indicators of the health of the environment. To meet the demand for knowledge about frogs we had five expert speakers give entertaining presentations on identifying frogs, their behaviour and tips for creating frog-friendly habitat.

“We filmed the event and edited versions of each presentation will soon be available on our website. The North Central CMA is committed to sharing the available knowledge with our regional community.

The frog forum is the first in a series of annual water science events. Next year’s forum will focus on water birds and the 2014 event will focus on native fish.

“These forums are organized by our regional Waterwatch Coordinator. They are important because they provide the community with the knowledge and skills to better understand their local environment.  They also enable and empower people to contribute to improving the health of their catchment,” said Mr Wells.

Feedback from the forum indicated that participants were most interested in identifying frogs, how to create frog- friendly habitats and how to monitor and record the distribution of frogs in the region. (Photo supplied).

For further information please contact: 

Communications Officer, North Central CMA
PO Box 18, Huntly VIC 3551
t: 03 5448 7124
e: info@nccma.vic.gov.au