Last month, the Raleigh eighth-grader addressed the Wake County Board of Commissioners to share her vast knowledge about frogs and to put in a good word for proclaiming the last Saturday in April as Save the Frogs Day.

Impressed, the commissioners said they would take the issue to the governor, and the paperwork that would make Rachel's dream a reality is now making its way through the political pipeline.

Meanwhile, the frogs could use some help.

One-third of the world's amphibian species, including frogs, are threatened, Rachel said, and at least 200 species have already met with extinction since 1979.

"Frogs will not survive the 21st century if they continue declining at their current rate," she said.

If you happen to shrug, Rachel is quick to set you straight. She admits she fell in love with frogs initially because "they're just really, really cute - I love their little eyes" and "they have a lot of personality," but the more she learned, the more she came to love.