You've probably noticed by now that our logo is a frog on a heart-shaped lilly pad. In promoting sustainability on campus, we wanted an easily recognizable symbol that would quickly identify sustainable initiatives. This still begs the question...

Why the Frog?

It has been suggested that frogs are sensitive to environmental conditions, they may be likened to 'the canary in the coalmine', providing the first indications of a detrimental change in global environmental conditions. This means that by looking at the status and health of frogs we can tell something about the status and health of the ecosystem. The disappearance of frog populations can actually disturb an intricate food web, and result in negative impacts that can cascade through the ecosystem.

Frogs have survived in more or less their current form for 250 million years, having survived countless ice ages, asteroid crashes, and other environmental disturbances. However, drastic declines in amphibian populations have been documented worldwide since 1989. Frogs are now the most threatened group of animals on Earth. Nearly one-third of the world’s 6,485 amphibian species are threatened with extinction, and at least 150 species have already completely disappeared in recent decades. Most frogs require suitable habitat in both the terrestrial and aquatic environments, and have permeable skin that can easily absorb environmental chemicals. These traits make frogs especially susceptible to environmental disturbances.

Northern Leopard Frog: Native to Prince Edward IslandNatural habitats for amphibians and other species are destroyed and degraded as they are cleared for development and utilized for their natural resources. Surviving habitats become polluted or dramatically altered, often making them hostile to their natural inhabitants. By adopting and promoting sustainable practices on-campus and off-campus, we will reduce our 'ecological footprint' (a measure of human demand on the Earth's ecosystems) and help ensure a healthy natural environment for amphibians and other life on Earth, including humans.

 Green Frog: Native to Prince Edward Island

Some Interesting Frog Facts:  

• Tadpoles (larval frogs) keep waterways clean by feeding on algae.
• Adult frogs eat large quantities of insects, including disease vectors that can transmit illnesses to humans (i.e. mosquitoes).
• Frogs also serve as an important food source to a diverse array of predators, including dragonflies, fish, snakes and birds.
• Frogs produce a wide array of skin secretions, many of which have significant potential to improve human health through their use as pharmaceuticals
• Approximately 10% of Nobel Prizes in Physiology and Medicine have resulted from investigations that used frogs. 

For those looking for more information on amphibians, check out these interesting links:

• The IUCN Red List for Amphibians   
• AmphibiaWeb   
• Canadian Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Network (CARCNET)