In the early hours of a Melbourne morning, Danny Reddan can be found running a ten-kilometre route along the urban waterways of his inner-Melbourne neighbourhood. As he rounds the stretch of trail that takes him past the Moomba Park Wetlands, his mind turns to the Growling Grass Frogs he knows are busying themselves nearby.

“Growling Grass Frogs just remind me of my childhood in Warrnambool,” says Danny. “I was always out chasing frogs and lizards and so I have an idea of what habitat on the Merri Creek and its tributaries would once have been like – and what they could be like again too, if we work hard enough, if we come together as a community.”

Growling Grass Frog (Litoria raniformis), photograph by Geoff Heard

In July, the future of these frogs, known for their remarkable call, became more hopeful, thanks to the generosity of MCMC supporters, who donated over $34,000 to our campaign to protect the recently returned populations in the southern parts of the Merri Creek.

MCMC Executive Officer Bernadette Thomas is thrilled with the passion she has seen across the Merri Creek community for the Growling Grass Frog, which defied the odds in the early 2020s by returning to southern parts of the Merri Creek where they hadn’t been seen for decades.

“We’ve known for a long time that the Merri Creek community is willing to devote their time and money towards protecting what is left of the biodiversity along our waterways, and in particular to this very special frog. Thanks to the generosity of our donors, we are already planning habitat improvements at Moomba Park that will provide the unique habitat needs of the Growling Grass Frog.”

Research by scientists like Dr Geoffrey Heard from University of Queensland and Australian National University has told us that a range of in-stream and off-stream habitat is critical for these frogs, which hunt for their insect breakfasts in partly submerged grasses that also provide their tiny offspring, protection from prey.

The much-needed funds from the campaign will also allow us to begin monitoring four populations, including three new sites. This monitoring is a step up from the surveys completed by the MCMC team to date, which served to confirm not just the presence of the frogs in 2023 and 2024, but the fact that they were breeding, according to MCMC Ecological Restoration Manager Michael Longmore.

“The monitoring that we’re now able to begin, thanks to the support of the community, will provide a year of data that will allow us to understand what the unique needs of these populations are and will inform how we protect them in future,” says Michael. “We’re planning to begin surveying in October and the habitat improvement works will begin in January next year. We’ll be looking for other funding sources to complete the additional four years of surveying.”

Bernadette cites collaboration across multiple organisations as critical in the fight to protect the Growling Grass Frog, an idea that Danny Reddan, who also works with our sister organisation, the Darebin Creek Management Committee shares.

“Bringing different groups together is where you get the best results,” Danny says. “Working on your own is quite difficult – people can feel they’re a lone voice and it’s easy to lose conviction or momentum. There’s a real appetite there to learn and improve environmental outcomes together.”

Danny is not alone in his vision for the Growing Grass Frog – it’s our vision too. Merri Creek Management Committee has recently endorsed an overarching strategy for the southern metapopulations of the Growling Grass Frog, the culmination of four years’ work by a Project Steering Group comprised of the Merri Creek Management Committee, Hume City Council; City of Whittlesea; Merri-bek City Council; Melbourne Water; Parks Victoria and the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action and due for release in October.

Thank you to the many supporters that answered our call and donated to our Growling Grass Frog campaign in July. Your support has allowed us to begin important work to protect this endangered frog. We will be seeking further funding for the remainder of our plans.

Photograph by Geoff Heard.