04/18/2026
SURPRISES OF VERNAL POOLS
John Burroughs Nature Sanctuary
Saturday, April 18, 2026, 10:00 am
Have you ever wondered about those puddles you might walk by in the woods in spring that weren’t there last fall? Where do they come from and why do they go away? And what are the sounds they produce, which suddenly stop when you approach? Vernal pools are spring happenings, early wonders in the woods. As with bird migration and spring ephemerals, they too are a renewal of life—often prolific and, in some, noisy life. One kind are the spring peepers that emerge from their winter dormancy when snowmelt and rain fill their low-lying winter refuge and often lead the chorus of other vocal amphibians that are also awakening. But that’s only part of the surprise of vernal pools.
Join Frank Parisio for our inaugural Vernal Pool Walk and welcome spring at several of the Sanctuary’s spring pools. Frank is a lifelong naturalist and a professional freshwater wetland ecologist with almost 20 years of experience studying vernal and woodland pools of the Catskills and Hudson Valley. As a boy, he enjoyed visits to Slabsides with his family exploring the many swamps, pools, and ponds of the Sanctuary. His earliest experience with wetlands came when at age five his parents took him skating on a frozen woodland pool behind their home. Frank’s abilities as an ice skater never took off, but his fascination with wetlands never left him.
Registration is required at [email protected] . We will send you the meeting place. The walk starts at 10:00am.
