Upcoming Events

We invite you to our Wild Ones Greater Cleveland monthly chapter meeting!

Education Topic: FrogWatch USA: Once Upon a Wetland with Carrie Bassett (Akron Zoo Education Mission Manager and National FrogWatch USA Coordinator)
Date/Time: 7:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

FrogWatch USA is a citizen science program that encourages volunteers to collect and contribute information about the breeding calls of frogs and toads to a national dataset that is publicly available online. The information collected by thousands of FrogWatch USA volunteers across the United States is then analyzed to inform the development of environmental protection and amphibian conservation strategies.

Why Frogs?

Frogs and toads have served as important cultural symbols for centuries, ranging from symbols of fertility in ancient Egypt, luck in Japan and rain gods for some Native American cultures. Even Kermit the Frog has status as a modern-day celebrity. Frogs and toads have been vitally important in the field of human medicine and compounds from their skin are currently being tested for anti-cancer and anti-HIV properties.

Frogs and toads also play an important role in wetland ecosystems, serving as both prey and predator. These species are often considered indicators of environmental health. Sadly, over 2,000 amphibian species are currently threatened with extinction, and many more are experiencing sharp population declines both in the United States and around the world. This alarming trend may be a sign of deteriorating wetland health. It's essential that scientists understand the scope, geographic scale and cause of these declines.

Carrie Bassett
Carrie Bassett is the National Coordinator for FrogWatch USA and the Senior Manager of Education Outreach and Impact at the Akron Zoo.  She has been involved in FrogWatch since 2015 and became the national coordinator in 2022.  With a degree in biology with an emphasis in secondary education, she has worked at the Akron Zoo for over 20 years.

Story:  I grew up in NW Ohio and have always loved animals.  I remember finding toads in the yard with my mom growing up and listening to them sing at night.  Growing up, I really wanted to be a veterinarian, but eventually decided on being a biology teacher.  When I was in college, I learned all about how zoos have education departments where you get to work with animals AND teach people about them.  That has been my passion ever since.

Registration Link: https://wildones-org.zoom.us/meeting/register/LeUuGjGjSWyE6VD19EdhOw

Passcode: Gr8TCLE!