Vernal Pool Project volunteer training
Vernal pools are small, temporary, woodland ponds that serve as critical breeding habitat for amphibians, insects, and even tiny clams and crustaceans. In efforts to protect this vital (yet often overlooked) wildlife habitat, Ashuelot Valley Environmental Observatory -- the citizen science arm of the Harris Center for Conservation Education -- trains volunteers to identify and document vernal pools, with special focus on lands where information is needed for conservation planning. We’ll cover the building blocks of vernal pool ecology in an indoor training session on Thursday, April 18 from 7 - 9 pm at the Putnam Science Center (Room 127), then venture outside for hands-on instruction in vernal pool identification and documentation at a vernal pool complex in Keene on Saturday, April 20 from 10 am – noon.
Trainings are free and open to the public, but registration is required. For more information or to register, contact Brett Amy Thelen at thelen@harriscenter.org or (603) 358-2065.
Co-sponsored by the Harris Center for Conservation Education, the Monadnock Conservancy, and the Keene State College School of Sciences.
To request accommodations for a disability, please contact the coordinator at least two weeks prior to the event.