Our Pond of Wonder

Lately, we’ve been thinking a lot about the pond in Harrington as we travel the east and west trails. Why is the pond shallower this year? What kind of fish are the osprey catching? What type of frogs are singing back and forth to each other? What effect could the new bridge have on the creatures who live in or around the pond? Our goal today was to explore who these creatures are and how they interact with each other.

Use the photos below to talk about which animals, birds, insects, amphibians, reptiles, and plants you saw or heard as we paired up for a pond scavenger hunt.

What were you able to see when you used your pond viewer to look below the surface of the water?

We often come across snail shells around Cedar Hideaway so we decided to try to find out more about these gastropods which means stomach-foot. See if you can remember why they are called this then share what you discovered as we did the following activities:

*Snail Trail

*Checking Out How Snails Move

*Making Snail Shelters

We now have a better understanding of the many different creatures and plants who depend on Harrington Pond for their homes and food. The Nature mentors  were very proud of all of the Herons today who created ‘snail huts’ to provide more shelter for them, removed more of the invasive wild garlic mustard from Mystery Forest, and helped Gray Squirrel make an orange slice tree to attract the orioles around her house. 

We think that you are not only kids who are full of wonder but also wonderful kids! 

With people like you, we know that Harrington Pond is in good hands!

Wishing you a wonderful long weekend full of nature walks and discoveries that take your breath away!