Tuesday, January 30, 2007

"So that the frogs could breathe easier" .... Ptuj, Slovenia

So,that the frogs can breathe easier!

The students of Gimnazija Ptuj (class 2.a) have joined the ENO
and the project about climate changes. The project is called
»So that the frogs can breathe easier«. We were inspired by the
mascot (a frog named Frank), which we made by ourselves and
was symbolically carried across the road. Why did we do this?

The frog is an animal that is very sensitive to climate changes,
so many kinds the species are already onthe edge of extinction.
humans have a big influence on their life. The most interesting fact
is that frogs need the closeness of humans. Humans, however, are
changing frogs habitat by building houses and roads, changing layers
of humus, using pesticides in farming, destroying natural ponds etc.
Did you know, that gardeners are very happy if frogs inhabits their
gardens because that means they wont have any problems with pests?
By building an extensive road sistem network, humans are interferring
with frogs natural paths that lead to their spawning places.
This is the reason why there are so many frogs run over by cars during
theirr spawning season. Many environmental organisations are warming
us about this problem by carrying frogs across the roads, closer to the
spawning places.

Our preparations began quite some time ago. We startedto cutting frogs
from paper. Onto those paper-frogs we wrote our promises how we were
going to improve the environment. We made posters and invited other
students to take part in the activities. We presented our work with a
role-play between two worried meteorologists talking about climate changes.
We organised an exehibition in the school library.
But, if you look at the pictures, you will see for yourselves!

Branka Sijanec (geography teacher)