Leap Day for Frogs, held annually on the 28th of February, is the one day of the year when ordinary South Africans can take a leap of action and do something to appreciate and protect one of the most threatened group of animals on Earth: Frogs! These important creatures are disappearing all over the planet largely because of habitat destruction.
This year, the Endangered Wildlife Trust: Threatened Amphibian Programme, who are currently implementing a pilot wetland project in iLembe District Municipality as part of the ICLEI LAB: Wetlands SA Project, had the opportunity to celebrate this day with Mbekamuzi Combined School in Groutville situated in Ilembe District Municipality, KwaZulu-Natal. It was a beautiful day filled with fun and information sharing about wetlands and amphibians. In total 54 learners from grade six and four educators participated in the event. The day had two activities, part one was an in-class lesson on the importance of frogs and wetlands and part two was a field trip to a wetland around the school.
Both lessons really highlighted that we need to protect our wetlands because they perform significant functions that not only serve animals and plants but humans too, for example through the storing and cleaning of water.
The highlight of the day was seeing learners excited about frogs and wetlands and answering all their questions enthusiastically and correctly! It was great to see such an animated interest in the topic and heart-warming to see learners have their first ever experience of touching and holding a frog!
