Counting Salamanders

This past month, Dawn had the pleasure of meeting up with other place-based educators from the Upper Valley at Marsh Billings Rockefeller National Historical Park to learn about and participate in their salamander monitoring program. Jennie Friedman, the park's Education Specialist, led us on an interpretive hike up into a mixed forest of hemlock and hardwood trees. Once there, we carefully lifted coverboards to unveil what lied beneath. We noticed shiny black beetles, long amber colored slugs, earthworms, white fungus, and quite a few red backed salamanders. We counted the salamanders as part of a citizen or community science project. Learn more about this project below and contact Jennie to schedule a program.

National Park Service Amphibian Monitoring Program

While some amphibians may look similar to reptiles, their moist skin sets them apart. The lives of frogs, toads, and salamanders, like the ones found within the park, are tied to water, so many can be found near streams or hidden under damp leaf litter. Because they are very sensitive to changes in their environment, the salamanders here in the park are part of a research study that looks to better understand how environmental changes effect salamander populations.

The park's resource managers place boards out over a test area that the salamanders burrow under; the resource managers can then simply lift the boards and count the salamanders to get an idea of the size and health of the overall population. Often school groups are able to assist with this project. The park hopes that through this research, we can better help and protect salamander populations.

UVTPC Community of Practice (CoP)

This workshop was the first gathering of the Upper Valley Teaching Place Collaborative's Community of Practice, a group of place-based educators from organizations that support this kind of learning in VT and NH. The members of the CoP support one another, learn together, collaborate, provide leadership for the UVTPC and serve as subject matter experts. Contact Joan Haley if your organization is interested in learning more about the UVTPC CoP. Check out the UVTPC here.