Raising public awareness of the naturally valuable areas of the region of Lodz and the legally protected species found here is also significant. Anyone, regardless of age or knowledge of nature, can join the project.
How to take part in the „Ogólnołódzki Żabing” project? It’s really simple:
- Go for a walk to a nearby water reservoir, river, drainage ditch or a wet meadow.
- Become a herpetologist, i.e. a scientist dealing with amphibians and reptiles, and observe if there are any amphibians in the place you have visited. If possible, try to identify them. Amphibians are great at camouflage, but they can be noisy during the mating season, so listen carefully. See if there is any spawn or tadpoles in the water, and whether there are fish in the tank.
REMEMBER! All amphibians in Poland are legally protected! Don’t touch or move any grown frogs, spawn or tadpoles!
It is worth documenting the observed amphibians. If you can, record and photograph them. Such materials will be useful when verifying the observations. The absence of amphibians is also valuable information. If there are no amphibians at the observation site, mark that too! - Report your observations using the form on zabing.forestminded.pl/eng If you are unable to identify adult amphibians, do not mark any particular species in the questionnaire. You can also submit photos of amphibians or recordings of the sounds they make.
Instructions on how to do this, as well as additional materials to help you learn how to recognise amphibians and their voices, can also be found on: zabing.forestminded.pl/eng.
Jarosław Brodecki is responsible for verifying and analysing the data incoming as part of the „Ogólnołódzki Żabing” project.
The 2nd “Ogólnołódzki Żabing” started on 20 March 2022 on World Frog Day and will last until 30 September 2022. The project has been covered by the Honorary Patronage of the President of the City of Lodz, Hanna Zdanowska, and the patronage of the Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection of the University of Lodz, and the NATRIX Herpetological Society.
Source and photos: Jarosław Brodecki
Edit: Promotion Centre of the University of Lodz