Did you know frogs are ecosystem cleaners? Or that frogs can act as ecological indicators, providing early warning about environmental health? UNSW urban biodiversity student, Adheeba Mohamad Ali recently completed an internship in Waverley’s Environment team, and here she shares information and tips on frog friendly gardens we can all jump on board with.
At a recent Eastern Suburbs Sustainable Schools Network meeting, I met Nadiah Roslan who coordinates FrogID - a national citizen science project that monitors frog health by tracking the different sounds they make, including croaks, whistles, bleats and barks.
We also heard from Marika Nabung, a parent from Rose Bay Public School and Sandra Newman, an educator from Malabar Public School who shared how they created frog ponds using old bathtubs on their school grounds. After adding some rocks and native plants both schools reported that frogs were eager to move right in!
But why are frogs important to our urban environments?
Frogs play a vital role in the ecological food chain, they help with natural pest control by preying on insects such as mosquitoes and cockroaches, and invertebrates like slugs and snails. They also provide a food source for other wildlife such as birds and reptiles.
Sadly, the number and types of frogs around us have been reducing due to habitat loss, domestic pesticide use (which reduces insects available for feeding), pollution and climate change. Over 40 of the 257 native Australian frog species are currently considered threatened. By creating a frog-friendly garden, we can help provide our urban frogs with much needed habitat and enjoy a pest free garden.
Nadiah Roslan from FrogID speaking at the Teachers Network workshop
Which Frogs live in Waverley
According to the Australian Museum, four frogs are most common in the Waverley area.
The Green Stream Frog (Litoria phyllochroa) are medium-sized, with bright or olive-green skin on their backs. They like to inhabit waterside vegetation and are generally found near creeks, streams or swamps.
The Common Eastern Froglet (Crinia signifera) are a tiny frog species that has skin colour ranging from brown, grey, beige, cream, to yellow. They live in garden ponds, pools, and ditches of water and like to feed on small insects such as mosquitoes and cockroaches. These tiny frogs sound a bit like crickets but at a lower pitch.
Common Eastern Froglets
Peron’s Tree Frog (Litoria peronii) This large tree frog has a grey or light brown back with several tiny emerald-green spots. These nocturnal species forage in trees and shrubs. They seek tree hollows, fallen logs and beneath bushes for resting. The male frog has a drill-like call, described as ‘maniacal cackle’.
A Persons Tree frog
The Striped Marsh Frog (Limnodynastes peronii) is a large frog with dark brown longitudinal stripes on its brown back. These frogs seek out debris, logs, rocks and bushy plants for shelter. They have distinctive mating call with a high-pitched ‘pop‘, ‘toc‘ or ‘whuck’ that’s repeated every few seconds.
A striped marsh frog. Photo: Jodi Rowley.
Creating frog habitats
The good news is that frog populations in our neighbourhoods can be reestablished by making a few additions to your garden to create a frog-friendly habitat. Frogs prefer cool, moist habitats, and places they can hide from predators. You can achieve this by placing partially buried terracotta pots or ceramic pipes, rocks, logs and thick leaf litter in your garden beds. Adding solar lights will attract moths and insects for frogs to feed on.
Increasing the plant density of your garden with suitable native plants will help create damp moist insect rich areas for frogs and provide great habitat for lizards and small birds too. Cut out pesticide use including slug pellets and let frogs, lizards take over.
Access to clean water in your garden will offer a permanent breeding site for the frogs so the next step in creating a frog enticing garden is to set up a pond.
How to build a mini frog pond
Step 1: Select a site that has part shade part sun, away from large trees and not too close to houses.
Step 2: Dig a hole for your pond. You can either use a container such as a small tub or a pot, an old bath, ready-made pond shell or a waterproof pond liner. Ensure that the dugout pond or tub has gentle slopes to allow frogs to get in and out. Or if you choose to have an above ground pond, build a ramp for frogs to get in and out using rocks and logs.
Step 3: Add stones and rocks into your pond to create different depths and places to climb out. Nadiah suggests to “ensure the pond has shallow and deep areas (at least 50 cm deep)." Fill the pond with rainwater if possible, or use tap water and let sit for a two days, so the chlorine evaporates.
Step 4: Add native potted plants into the pond and also plant along the edges of the pond to provide food, shelter, and breeding sites for the frogs. Native plants for different pond zones recommended by Nadiah are;
- Shallow zone: Tussock Sedges, Nardoo
- Deep zone: Water Ribbons, Marsh Flower
- Edges: Lomandra, Kangaroo Grass, Native Ginger, Knobby club rush
Step 5: Now add the other habitat elements. Place rocks, logs, mulch or leaf litter, around the pond to offer hiding spots and encourage biodiversity. Install some solar lights around the pond to attract yummy insects!
If you want to add fish to your pond, check with your local aquarium for frog friendly native fish such as the Pacific Blue Eye, as most fish, including goldfish, will eat tadpoles.
Be patient! Frogs or tadpoles will come naturally if the habitat is suitable, but this could take a month or up to a year.
Croak or cricket? Check FrogID
If you’re not sure if that dusk croak, is a frog call or a cricket, jump onto the FrogID app and find out. This mobile app developed by the Australian Museum harnesses citizen science to log frog distribution across Australia. It’s super easy to use. Just record what you hear using the app and the app AI will suggest the most likely match based on your area, it will also be confirmed by of experts. You can also explore the map to see which frogs have been spotted near you.
