volunteers looking into vernal pool

Vernal Pool Project Workshop

Harris Center for Conservation Education

Buck Meadow Conservation Area, 32 NH-101A
Amherst, NH 03031
United States

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Family-Friendly

Yes

High Adventure

No

Setting

Outdoors

About the Event

Vernal pools serve as critical breeding habitat for amphibians and as important feeding grounds and shelter for many reptiles, birds, and mammals – but because they’re small and seasonal, they’re often overlooked. To help communities protect these ephemeral ecosystems, the Harris Center for Conservation Education trains volunteers to identify and document vernal pools on lands where information is needed for conservation planning.

Join Harris Center ecologist Brett Amy Thelen for this hands-on introduction to vernal pool documentation, with special focus on identifying amphibian egg masses. We’ll start indoors, then venture outside for instruction at a nearby vernal pool. Afterward, interested volunteers can sign up with the Amherst Conservation Commission to visit a local vernal pool in need of documentation.

1 to 4 p.m. at the Buck Meadow Conservation Area in Amherst. Rain date: April 14. Space is limited, and registration is required.

Co-sponsored by the Harris Center for Conservation Education and the Amherst Conservation Commission.

What to bring

Come prepared for an afternoon in the woods (sturdy shoes, water, tick-proof clothing), and wear polarized sunglasses for seeing into the vernal pools. A notebook and writing utensil might also be useful.

Youth Instructions

Youth volunteers (upper-elementary-aged and up) are welcome, but must be accompanied by an adult.

Questions?

Contact Brett Thelen at thelen@harriscenter.org or 603-525-3394.

Location Details

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