There’s a lot to be said about frogs. For one, they are not all green (harken back to my old article from 2013 on Poison Dart Frogs here). They are, however, very cool. All of them. Even the weird leaf frog, officially named the “Long-Nosed Horned Frog”,–looks very cool and weird at the same time. My point for all of this is to let you know today, 20 March, is World Frog Day. Even if you are reading this a day or several later, it is still a good time to stop and appreciate the wonders of frogs. From princess-kissing to ukelele-singing, frogs have a way of bringing a smile to our face. At the same time, they also need our support. Many frog populations are under threat and facing extinction. Some have already slipped away. Today is the day to do some research, educate ourselves, and start the prep work. And if you are really enthusiastic to do more, you’ll have your active chance on Save the Frogs Day on 28 April. More on that soon. Let’s look at ways to celebrate frogs!
Make: Your Own Origami Leaping Frog
Origami is one of my fave ways to make a conversation starter. It entertains small kids at social events, distracts me from long travel journeys, and is an easy way to produce a small gift to introduce the awesomeness of World Frog Day. Leaping frogs are a moderate-level origami style, requiring a few reverse folds and corner tucks. However, it takes less than 10-minutes to create a small paper frog for little hops around your table.
Plenty of instructions are available on the internet; simply search “origami leaping frog” for one that suits you (we all have different learning styles). Personally, I like the one shared below.
Play: Mudborne
With its timely release for World Frog Day, Mudborne is a fantastic indie game designed to entertain and educate. This casual nature management sim has cute pixelated aesthetics with a sweet theme for discovering and breeding frogs. The gameplay blends crafting and discovery elements with menu management and puzzle solving. I love the simple style of exploring the frog pond, and picking up lotus flowers and reeds to bring back to my home. The bigger goal is to collect my fellow frogs and study their genetics, hoping to breed new species and unlock the paths between waking and dreaming worlds. It’s not too sinister–no frogs are hurt in the making of this game, and the grand ideal is to repopulate the Frog Pond and restore lost populations.
Mudborne was released on Steam TODAY, World Frog Day (20 March), and, to be fair, I haven’t played it all the way through yet. So far, I’m enjoying the exploration and collection. I have discovered a few tiny frogs and have just started the genetic modifications. This latter part reminds me of the ‘breeding tent’ in Cult of the Lamb, though less “must kill demons” and more “Oh, look! It’s a cute frog with a hat!”. This game deserves a full review for Save the Frogs on 28 April.
Bonus points for the developers, ellraiser and TNgineers: “A portion of the money made will be donated towards national and international amphibian, wetlands, and environmental charities to help keep our little green friends and their homes happy and healthy.” You can download the demo on Steam now, and the full game released later today (20 March 2025). It’s also worth checking out Apico, a similar casual-sim game about breeding and collecting bees. I love how they bring conservation and entertainment together!
Watch: The Muppets starring Robin the Frog
I was considering The Princess and the Frog (Disney+) because I love the character narratives in the movie. It is gorgeous and empowering, and even with all the magic/voodoo elements, the characters are the most relatable from all other Disney princess movies. Hard work indeed.
But The Muppets are right there, man! How can I pass by all the life lessons from Kermit!! I’m more of a Rowlf fan myself, but Kermit has been a steadfast role model for most (if not all) of my life. He is crazy, fun, empathetic, and somehow knows how to round up his motley crew–something I have yet to achieve with the EG Family.
Of all the Muppet episodes, movies, and random appearances, my favourite is not one you can ‘watch’. In 1977, the Jim Henson Company released The Muppet Show album, the first soundtrack for the show. EG Grandma had this on LP and recorded it onto a cassette tape for every long road trip that filled my young childhood… there were many. Every song created bright visuals in my head, whether or not I had seen them first on television. To this day, I still can recite random verses from “Lydia the Tattooed Lady”, along with useless pieces of American History.
However, the pinnacle of the album for me was “Halfway Down the Stairs”, a poem by A.A.Milne and performed by Robin the Frog, nephew to Kermit. It is, and always will be, a soothing song of insightfulness: A simple frog sitting on a simple stair, pausing to appreciate the thoughts running through their head. Balancing between going up and going down, in the same way, frogs can balance their lives between land and water. Deep thoughts for a young child, but they have stuck with me for years. So, if there is anything I can learn from frogs and subsequently teach my own spawnlings, it is to remember to stop and take a break now and then. Collect your thoughts. Appreciate the balance. Even if you are halfway up-or-down the stairs.
Read: Tiddalick: The Little Green Frog that Grew, as told by Uncle James Wilson-Miller, illustrated by Charlotte Craven-Miller
I acknowledge and pay my respects to the Traditional Custodians of the lands and water on which I stay; the Cammeraygal People of the Guringai Tribe of the Eora Nation. I pay my respects to all Aboriginal Elders, past, present, and emerging, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who read this. I acknowledge and respect the vital contribution First Peoples and cultures have made and still make to the nation we share and the literary community.
Tiddalick comes from the Dreamtime, a creation story shared by many First Peoples across Australia. Almost every Australian child learns the story at some point in Primary School, bringing home hand-drawn pictures of giant frogs that swallowed the landscape. It’s such a fantastic story to teach kids so many valuable lessons:
- The importance of our environment, especially our water resources;
- The value of history, wisdom, and stories shared to us through life experience;
- The need to share with our ‘mob’, our family and our community;
- The power of working as a team.
There are many copies of this story, re-told in various ways. The book I share here was commissioned by the Wonnarua National Aboriginal Corporation and created by the Jumbunna team. It is important to credit and value the storytelling directly from our First Nations and not to appropriate it with white views.
BONUS: FrogID App from the Australian Museum
One last thing to add to your froggy day. The Australian Museum has developed and released the FrogID App to identify and record our frog population in Australia. It is Australia’s first national Citizen Science frog call initiative, allowing users to record and submit frog calls for Australian Museum experts to listen to. The experts then identify and map the species distribution across Australia, comparing it with records from our ever-changing environment. Revisiting the same sites is also encouraged because it brings comparative data, which is just as helpful as new data.
The app works both ways: while we provide the experts with data, they also share that with us. When you first load up the app on your mobile, it will download a whole menu of data on frogs around Australia. This includes images, scientific names, calling periods throughout the year, detailed descriptions of the frog, and a recording of their call. This is one of the most fantastic research reference points for Australian native wildlife, and it’s free. This is everything I want Citizen Science to be.
Everything you need to know is on the Australian Museum FrogID website here.
If you missed World Frog Day, don’t worry. You have plenty of time to explore the activities above and prepare for Save the Frogs Day on 28 April. This is the oldest annually celebrated event dedicated to amphibian awareness, with personal events spread worldwide. You can find out more about it on their website here. We have plenty of time to think of ways to help, including the FrogID App and Mudborne on Steam. Best of all, you can create your own projects. Years ago, the EG Family created a frog pond from an old bathtub in the backyard. Maybe I could add that to the project list… Hey, EG Dad!! Do you have a minute? I have an idea…
Enjoy your froggy day! And get hopping!!
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