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Volunteer conservationists are trying to save an endangered species of frog that’s found along the Barwon River in Geelong, and it seems that their work is having a significant impact.

When Conservation Volunteers Geelong first began sending teams of volunteers to the Barwon River a year ago to help this endangered species, they couldn’t hear the call of a single frog.

But last week, tells Alex Schipperen, Volunteer Engagement Officer at the Geelong branch, “a team leader was down there and he’s 95% sure he heard the southern bell frog. It’s the first time since…well, since we started there.”

Mr Schipperen added that the only way to be 100% sure of the frogs presence would be to catch and release one.

That particular team leader was Andrew Quick who appeared in the Geelong Star last friday. “And knowing him,” said Mr Shipperen, “hes quite sure about these things.”

The southern bell frog, or growling grass frog as it’s sometimes known due to it’s distinctive mating call, was once widespread across Victoria, but since 1988 it has been listed as Threatened by the government under the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act.

For the past year Conservation Volunteers Geelong has been sending teams of volunteers out to the Barwon River to build “designer homes” for the frogs along the bank. I asked Mr Schipperen exactly what a constitutes a designer home for a frog and he laughed, saying “It’s not what you imagine; a nest box with a little chimney…it’s providing all the rights factors for the frog to survive and breed in.”

“What the frog needs is certain elements in its’ habitat…things like branches in the water that they can sit on and call on. Volunteers over the last year have removed all the debris and rubbish that was dumped there, removed the land weeds and aquatic weeds, removed trees to make sure the sunlight penetrated the water again, then brought in the appropriate plants and shelter, branches and logs, things like that,” he said.

The groups conservation efforts have also impacted positively in other ways. Since they’ve been working in the area “other amphibians are really thriving well. And bird life has also increased a lot,” said Mr. Schipperen.

Annette Aboltins, a zoological consultant who has worked closely with the species, said that the frog likes “a range of different native wetland plants” in it’s habitat, such as “floating vegetation, underwater vegetation, and emergent vegetation such as rushes sticking out of the water…as well as aquatic vegetation fringing the wetland. This all provides shelter for frogs and tadpoles, as well as places to forage for food and for males to call and attract females.”

Unfortunately for the southern bell frog the habitats it most prefers are those that are usually subject to development, such as the Geelong wetlands. According to Mr. Schipperen, their natural homes are under threat for agricultural reasons; clearing to make way for livestock and dams, as well the artificial straightening of rivers, which causes the river bank to become uninhabitable.

Human development “can lead to the further reduction and degradation of their remaining habitat, and also cut off populations of frogs so that they are not able to disperse across the landscape,”Ms Aboltins said.

Other factors threatening the species include being preyed on by introduced animals (such as foxes, dogs, cats and non-native fish), a type of fungus that affects their fertility, as well as a loss of water quality and plant life.

However, Ms Aboltins is optimistic, and believes there may be more southern bell frogs in and around Geelong than we’re currently aware of. “The lack of official records of the species may just be a reflection of a lack of survey work rather than an absence of the species,” she said.

Anybody can sign up with Conservation Volunteers Australia and get to work on a conservation project of their choice. “Our volunteers come from all walks of life,” Mr Shipperen said. “The dominant groups we see are retirees or people close to retirement, and international students. Local students as well, but mostly international. They make up the bulk of our volunteers, along with a dedicated group of local volunteers.”

“We’re definitely looking for younger volunteers. We’ve had a few young people join us over the last couple of months. We have some uni students who choose to volunteer on a Saturday, either for work experience or personal interest,” said Mr Shipperen.

Southern Bell Frog Habitats – Geelong

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