This program will begin at 7 pm and last approximately an hour. Please register in advance for this webinar since registrations will close at 3 PM on the day of the event. You will receive an email confirmation after you have registered. If after registering, you cannot attend, please cancel your registration (as indicated on your confirmation) so someone else may use the slot.
Vernal Pools
Seasonal ponds – known as vernal pools – are full of life in the early spring and can be found throughout our area. (Bare Pond and Dolan Pond are two examples.) Discover how these pools form and the many wonderful adaptations that allow the invertebrates and amphibians who inhabit these ephemeral pools to survive in the low-oxygen water. See fairy shrimp, salamanders, wood frogs and many more. Learn about the commonly available materials you need if you want to try to see these interesting creatures up close by fishing for some (catch and release only!).
Our presenter is Barbara Bates. For the past 16 years, Barbara has been a teacher naturalist for Mass Audubon’s Habitat Education Center & Wildlife Sanctuary in Belmont, MA. Before the pandemic, she led guided nature walks for all ages on a variety of subjects and presented programs at several Continuing Care Retirement Communities and Senior Centers. She currently serves on the Board of the Newton Conservators. Barbara has retired several times – first from a long career in the high-tech world and more recently from teaching negotiation and conflict resolution as an adjunct faculty at Northeastern University. She loves all things nature.
