Visit a vernal pool and experience all the fragility, resiliency and miraculousness of life coming to life on the blue/green/brown planet Earth. Vernal pools are temporary, or ephemeral bodies of water that appear in Spring and can last until early summer. They form in small depressions in the woods, meadows and roadsides where snow melts and spring rains collect. They become mini environments for a variety of animals and plants that depend on these temporary bodies of water for their survival and the reproduction of their offspring. The outstanding, A Field Guide to the Animals of Vernal Pools, defines these woodland jewels as “wetlands that are or become isolated while containing water, are utilized by indicator species, and have wet-dry cycles that preclude permanent population of fish.” This definition reveals one of the crucial aspects of vernal pools; they are free of fish which means that salamanders, frogs and toads can lay their eggs in them without the danger of fish predation. Vernal pools are rich, temporary, ecosystems that provide an essential niche for a wide range of amphibians and pond life.
But the reason that vernal pools are so fun to visit during April, May and into June is that they are magical, enchanting fairy lands of incredible beauty and succulent vitality, of color, shadow and light, and sounds, and sights and life. Children love them because the small scale of a vernal pool (from six foot diameter to small pond size) tends to match the scope of the child’s vision and reach. Depending on when you visit you might find an intriguing mass of eggs, shifty amorphous patches of algae, a chorus of wood frogs, bursts of water lilies, spotted salamanders migrating to the pool to mate, or dragonflies dive-bombing the surface looking for other insects to eat. Poke around, sit still and listen, watch and wait, get on your hands and knees and crawl, explore, be curious and open to what you might find. They are little self-contained worlds, microcosms, that reflect and connect with the macrocosm of the world.
One way to introduce children to the natural world is to cultivate a sense of adventure and wonder in what you can find and discover if you go for a walk in the woods. Vernal pools are not located on many maps ( although this is changing as conservation efforts try to mark consistent vernal pools as protected areas), so there is always a sense of adventure in finding them. You might have to suddenly pull off to the side of the road, or go off the beaten path, or follow a trickling stream a little way into the woods to find one. But when you do find one there is a great feeling of discovery, of coming across a little piece of paradise, that perfect moment when time just slips, and you step over the threshold of one world into another. Vernal pools create their own little micro climates of fog, moisture, warmth and cold, cradling the beginnings of new life. And once you discover one, revisit it often, as egg masses turn into tadpoles, spring turns into summer, and the pool eventually dries up.
So bring some boots, or being willing to take your shoes off, maybe a magnifying glass and a net. People have different ideas about how much it is acceptable to disturb a vernal pool, with some people not wanting to disturb anything, especially egg masses. Other people think it perfectly acceptable to take some eggs and attempt to hatch them at home. Make your own commonsense, thoughtful decisions. Follow the applicable laws if that is your wont, but above all help the children you are with find magical places in the natural world where they can feel both at home and transported to another world. Support them in having memorable experiences of comfortable intimacy with nature that will help them build stronger connections with the natural world and sustain them through difficult times. These feelings of curiosity and wonder, engagement and love,if given half a chance, will mature into more sustained forms of attention, knowledgeable concern and responsible stewardship and care.
Resources
https://www.massaudubon.org/learn/nature-wildlife/reptiles-amphibians/vernal-pools/about
http://content.yardmap.org/learn/amazing-animals-that-use-vernal-pools/
A Field Guide to the animals of Vernal Pools by Leo Kenney and Matthew Burne, published by the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife,Natural Heritage and ENdangered SPecies Program and the Vernal Pool Association