It's not easy being green

Mooloolah River Watch and Landcare manager Jan Kesby, far right, and volunteers are busy organising frog workshops.

Che Chapman

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Frogs of the Sunshine Coast

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Frogs behaving badly

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WHAT is smooth, can be found hiding in damp and dark places, can leap huge distances and no matter how many times you kiss it, will never turn into a prince?

That's right, you guessed it - a frog.

Next month you can learn all about them and go frog spotting when the Mooloolah River Waterwatch and Landcare Inc and Queensland Frog Society host a frog workshop at Mooloolah Native Nursery on Steve Irwin Way, Mooloolah.

MRWL manager Jan Kesby said the informative and fun evening would give people interested in wildlife the chance to meet like-minded individuals while learning about the environment.

The 55-year-old mother of three, who has been involved with the environmental protection group for 15 years, said participants would get the chance to check out a few different types of frogs, such as the endangered giant barred frog, the eastern sedge frog and the emerald spotted tree frog.

She said education was paramount when it came to maintaining a healthy ecosystem on the Coast and, more specifically, in the Mooloolah River.

MRWL employs 27 staff, including numerous volunteers and paid workers who primarily focus on revegetation of the area surrounding the Mooloolah River and monitoring water quality and wildlife in the area.

But the list of what the group does is long, including everything from erosion and weed control, dam care and planting and contract growing to rehabilitation plans, community programs and seed collection.

Ms Kesby said MRWL was also involved in Clean Up Australia Day, Riversweep and other Coast environmental days.

As a collective, the group has been responsible for planting more than a million trees throughout the Coast in 10 years.

Ms Kesby said she had been inspired to get involved in environmental protection issues when nine turtles and an eel turned up dead in the Mooloolah River, which runs around her property, due to the quality of water in the river.

"Although it was a sad way to start out, it turned out to be a positive," she said.

She said working for MRWL wasn't easy, but if you loved the environment you would benefit from a job with the group.

"Planting trees and weed maintenance is hard work," she said.

"But you are making a difference to the health of the natural world."

If you wish to attend the frog workshop on February 5, phone MRWL on 5494 5074 or visit the Mooloolah Native Nursery on Steve Irwin Way, Mooloolah.

INTERESTING FROG FACTS

• A group of frogs is called an "army".
• Frogs don't drink water, they absorb it through their skin.
• Frog bones form a ring when the frog is hibernating, just like trees do (scientists can use these rings to determine the age of a frog).
• One way to tell a male frog from a female frog is by looking at its ears. The ears can be found right behind the frog's eyes. If the ears are as big as the eyes, then the frog is a boy. If the ears are smaller than the frog's eyes, then the frog is a girl.
• Only male frogs can croak, and every frog species makes its own unique sound. In fact, some species do not even croak. Instead, they whistle or chirp like a bird.