Fancy frogs' croaking? CD in the works

Master's student hopes to cut a CD on frog calls with the help of a $20,000 Ford grant to study frogs

By Steve Dawson

PUT those earphones on, lie back in a comfortable chair, pop in a CD and relax to the soothing tones of... noises made by frogs.

Master's student Leong Tzi Ming, 29, who hopes to make such a CD, said: 'Everyone's buying the Backstreet Boys CDs, so I thought this might create an extra dimension.'

Thanks to the Conservation and Environmental Grants offered on Tuesday by Ford Motor Company, Mr Leong won a $20,000 boost to continue his work in gauging the condition of amphibian species here.

In addition to producing an audio CD of frog calls, he hopes the money will help him carry out studies on frogs in neighbouring countries, publish a field guide to the various species in Singapore and produce a 'Frogs of Singapore' poster.

Mr Leong received the largest grant from the $64,000 handed out to six recipients by Ford.

The next biggest payout was $15,000 which went to a Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research project to identify the flora and fauna here. Another two awards of $13,500 and $5,500 went to two projects to preserve the mangrove swamps in Singapore.

Two more awards were given to a campaign to educate youths in taking active roles in environmental leadership and an assessment of pollutants on biological communities. Each award was worth $5,000.

The projects were selected from a pool of 13 entries.

During her speech at the awards ceremony at the Asian Civilisations Museum on Tuesday, the chairman of the Singapore Environment Council and a member of the panel of judges, Ms Kay Kuok, spoke of how commendable the panel found each campaign to be in terms of quality and relevance.

'It was heartening to see the dedication put into these projects,' she said, adding that next year she hoped more applicants would focus on heritage projects, as only one was put forward this year.

This is the first year Ford has offered grants in Singapore. Last year a total of US$250,000 (S$458,000) was handed out in Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam to assist in projects such as those that were being carried out in a kick-boxing school, a gibbons' sanctuary and a heritage building.

Mr Leong was delighted that the lion's share of the first Singapore grant went to frogs. He said five of the 26 species here were critically endangered.

Asked why he chose frogs as his passion over other wildlife, he replied: 'It's a falling-in-love thing. Like choosing one girl and not another.'