About Tweed ToadTrack
Watergum has been running the Cane Toad Challenge since 2018, and have been working in partnership with Tweed Shire Council since 2020.
This program is focused on raising awareness on the environmental impacts of invasive cane toads, educating community members on the differences between native frogs and cane toads, and teaching effective and humane control methods.
Watergum is a not-for-profit organisation based on the Gold Coast, Australia. Since 2001, we have been helping the community engage in real, on-ground work to restore, maintain and protect the natural environment. We strive to leave ecosystems better than we find them, by applying a science-based, collaborative approach.
Tweed ToadTrack Objectives
In 2024, Watergum and Tweed Shire Council launched ToadTrack Tweed, a citizen science-based study aiming to effectively monitor the impacts of regular cane toad control on local populations to help close the research gap and inform future management strategies and resource allocations. We aim to implement regular on ground cane toad control at our study site, in combination with seasonal population surveys to quantify the impacts of control measures. We will also be monitoring environmental variables and native frog species to gain a more in-depth understanding of trends and relationships. We can use this information to better inform future cane toad management in Australia.
Objectives:
- Monitor and record cane toad population trends at our study site at Pottsville Environmental Park.
- Combine expert-led surveys and citizen science to monitor changes in native frog diversity.
- Encourage community engagement and awareness to cane toad control through face-to-face training workshops, social media, online courses, community events and on-ground work.
- Educate community members on effective and humane cane toad control methods.
- Conduct regular, volunteer-led control sessions of the study site and record the percentage of on-ground population able to be removed per session and per year.
- Evaluate the success of regular cane toad control over a multi-year period and in relation to relative literature.
