For the past 14 years thousands of volunteers across Canberra have been braving the night to trek through mud and tall grass, all in the name of research.
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For the first time, the Frogwatchers' data has been collated in a report, released on Sunday, detailing how the ACT government can better create and manage urban wetlands.
ACT minister for the environment and climate change, Simon Corbell, said it highlighted the value of citizen science programs.
It was co-authored by Upper Murrumbidgee Waterwatch scientific officer Danswell Starrs and Ginninderra Catchment Group Frogwatch coordinator Anke Maria Hoefer.
Ms Hoefer said the thousands of volunteers who took part in the Frogwatch program, including the annual Frog Census, were elated.
"I think it's been a long time coming," she said.
"For many years it was almost like the data goes into a dark hole … people are happy now it is applied and they can see results."
The main reason frogs are monitored is because they are a good indicator of environmental health, Mr Starrs said.
"Hopefully wetland design in the future will support greater frog populations," he said.
The report detailed six major findings which dictate the presence and absence of frogs at urban wetlands.
It found wetlands near remnant forest were more likely to have a greater variety of frogs. Similarly, those with good vegetation right around the edge with plenty of rocks and logs provided a better habitat for frogs. Mowing near the wetlands proved to have a negative effect.
"Frogs live in the terrestrial environment, they only really need water for reproduction," Mr Starrs said.
"That was one of the big findings to come out of the data."
While there was information that suggested it was likely, one of the most surprising findings was that water quality affected frog populations.
"Generally it is harder to identify water quality specifically, so that's one we'd like to do a bit more research on in the future," Mr Starrs said.
While the report provided recommendations for management, Mr Starrs said the changes would take a couple of years to have an effect.
"It would not be an immediate thing. In a couple of years you would start to see benefits which would lead to overall better biodiversity and environmental outcomes," he said.
Mr Corbell said the research, conducted at 33 wetlands, would be extremely valuable.
