Suzanne Lazaroo
11 August 2026: The University of Canberra’s Centre for Conservation Ecology and Genomics team is celebrating another leap forward for the Green and Golden Bell Frog project – recognised with the Australian Government Landcare Innovation Award at the ACT Landcare Awards on Saturday.
The award celebrated the passion and partnerships helping to protect one of the country’s most iconic amphibians, even as it also addresses the deadly chytrid fungus that has driven many to extinction worldwide.
The award spotlighted both the scientific innovation underlying the project – including installing frog ‘saunas’ and ‘spas’ to create the warm and slightly salty conditions in which the frogs thrive, and the fungus does not – as well as the model of research-community partnership that has seen citizen scientists and community volunteers take on important roles in their ongoing conservation and care.
“The scope at which we’ve been able to translate scientific ideas and findings from lab and mesocosm experiments to landscape level conservation interventions has only been made possible by the extraordinary help and participation of volunteer and landcare groups like FrogWatch,” said Associate Professor Simon Clulow.
He leads the project with Professor Richard Duncan from the University’s Faculty of Science and Technology, and Senior Lecturer Ben Scheele from the Australian National University.
Community members have been involved with everything from setting up the frog ‘saunas’ to listening out for frog calls and helping with surveys at selected wetlands to monitor populations and generate observations and data.
“The project demonstrates the impact that can be achieved when research and community engagement are brought together – what began as a research-led conservation project has developed into a genuinely community-driven effort,” Professor Duncan said.
“This has not only increased the capacity of the project to deliver conservation outcomes, but has also built a strong and highly engaged community around the recovery of one of the ACT’s most iconic threatened species.
“We really appreciate our wonderful volunteers, whose enthusiasm, commitment, and hard work have been central to the project’s success.”
Held this year at the National Portrait Gallery, the biennial ACT Landcare Awards recognise outstanding contributions by locals from across the Territory to support the environment, agriculture and communities.
Congratulating all winners, Landcare ACT CEO Dr Michael Robinson said “Together they show that change happens when knowledge, collaboration and commitment are brought together in service of people, place and Country.
“Their efforts deliver lasting environmental, social and community benefits, helping to build resilient landscapes, stronger communities and a more sustainable future.”
State and Territory Landcare Award category winners will represent the ACT at the National Landcare Awards, to be held in late 2027 in Adelaide, South Australia.
The Green and Golden Bell Frog project was bolstered by close to $1 million in Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Project funding, as well as support from the ACT Government.
Project partners include the ACT Healthy Waterways Program and Office of Nature Conservation under the ACT Government; the Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate (EPSDD); the NSW Saving our Species program under the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW); Symbio Wildlife Park; FrogWatch ACT; and ACT Waterwatch.
