SA conservation biologist wins 2020 Whitley Award worth R900K
Dr Jeanne Tarrant, known locally as the ‘Frog Lady’, works for the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) where she manages the Threatened Amphibian Programme.
Dr Jeanne Tarrant was one of six conservationists to be recognised this year for their achievements in nature conservation.
A conservation biologist from South Africa won a prestigious Whitley Award worth £40,000 (just over R900,000) to support her quest to save threatened amphibians on April 29.
Dr Jeanne Tarrant, locally known as the ‘Frog Lady’, works for the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) where she manages the Threatened Amphibian Programme. Jeanne was one of six conservationists to be recognised this year for their achievements in nature conservation, reports Bedfordview Edenvale News.
According to EWT’s communications manager Belinda Glenn, EWT is the only NGO in South Africa to include frogs as a conservation focus.
“The Whitley Awards, often referred to as ‘Green Oscars’, are awarded annually to individuals from the Global South by UK-based conservation charity called the Whitley Fund for Nature (WFN),” said Glenn.
Dr Jeanne Tarrant doing a swabbing during fieldwork.
Tarrant explained how South Africa had excellent environmental legislation, although illegal developments continued to destroy frog habitats.
She said: “Our aim is to not only improve appreciation of frogs through research and education, but use our slippery friends as flagships for the wider conservation of vital freshwater and terrestrial areas that are under the increasing threat of humans.
“The fact that almost half of amphibians are experiencing declines should be a massive wake-up call to humanity that all is not right with our planet. Most people, however, are unaware that amphibians are even in trouble.”
Glenn added how amphibians are the most threatened group of animals on the planet with 41% of all species at risk of extinction.
Almost two-thirds of the country’s 135 frog species are found nowhere else, making South Africa a priority for amphibian conservation.
Dr Jeanne Tarrant, known locally as the Frog Lady, doing her fieldwork.
Despite this, a combination of threats from habitat loss due to mining, agriculture and pollution are putting the country’s frogs at risk.
In some South African cultures, frogs can be associated with witchcraft, making them often feared by locals.
Tarrant’s educational work aims to dispel such myths and raise awareness and appreciation of the important role frogs play in the health of the environment and ecosystem.
The EWT’s national awareness Leap Day for Frogs has attracted some 15,000 participants over the past five years.
Pickersgill’s Reed Frog.
Tarrant has also inspired school children with her ‘Frogs in the Classroom’ learning programme, gaining young fans and earning her the title of the ‘Frog Lady’.
Growing up in the southern Drakensberg Mountains of KwaZulu-Natal, Jeanne was surrounded by nature.
Following her undergraduate studies, she worked in the UK for five years before returning to her homeland of South Africa to specialise in the research of threatened South African frogs.
Some of the species that Jeanne and her team conserve include the critically endangered Amathole Toad, which had not been seen for over 13 years until Jeanne and her colleagues re-discovered it in 2011.
Isipingo learners go on a wetland excursion.
She also works with the Endangered Pickersgill’s Reed Frog, with the number of known localities of this tiny 2cm amphibian on the rise thanks to her efforts.
In addition to education and fieldwork, Jeanne works with government to ensure enhanced protection for frogs on a policy level.
Supported by WFN, her team will produce a 10-year conservation and research strategy for South African frogs and protect 20,000 hectares of amphibian habitat conserving eight species.
Founder of the Whitley Fund for Nature Edward Whitley said Jeanne was an inspiring leader who tirelessly advocates for amphibians, often an overlooked group.
“We hope this Whitley Award will allow her to spread her important message far and wide, and bring about real change for amphibians and their habitat through science, policy, and community education.”
The awards are normally presented to winners by Patron, Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal at an annual ceremony in London.
The 2020 Whitley Awards Ceremony was postponed due to the pandemic.
Winners will receive their funding and will be invited to attend a ceremony and related events in London later in the year to celebrate their achievements, should circumstances allow.
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