Community Science with the Harris Center for Conservation Education

05/28/2026

🌿 A huge thank-you to everyone who helped make the Monadnock Region’s first-ever City Nature Challenge such a success! The results were extraordinary.

In just four days, 93 local observers documented 3,829 observations on iNaturalist.org representing 974 species — including 10 species never before recorded on iNaturalist in New Hampshire and 15 never before documented in the Monadnock Region.

From gray tree frogs and painted trilliums to rare insects and trail-cam coyotes, this regional BioBlitz revealed just how much biodiversity is thriving right here close to home — and how powerful community science can be when people come together to document and care for the natural world. (A special shout out to Harris Center ecologist Nate Marchessault and Steven Lamonde from Moosewood Ecological for their vital contributions to the project!)

👉 Read the full story and see highlights from the challenge on our website: https://tinyurl.com/city-nature-2026

📸: Virginia Ctenucha Moth © Jack Forrester | Eastern Bluebird in flight © Tom Momeyer | Black bear sign — fur and scratch marks on a telephone pole in Nelson © Brett Amy Thelen | ​Yellow​ Trout​ Lily​ © Kate​ McKay​ (all photos courtesy iNaturalist)

05/23/2026

Solid work by our friends at the Squam Salamander Brigade!! We are delighted to see these new efforts taking root. ♥️

We’re working on our own end-of-season summary as well, and hope to have it ready in the next few weeks. Stay tuned!

05/20/2026

🐸 A DEBUT PERFORMANCE!
We are delighted to share the premiere of an original musical composition by Kimberly Clark, elementary band director at Franklin Elementary School, which was inspired by the spring amphibian migration — and by our Salamander Crossing Brigades!

🥁 Performed by the Keene Elementary Band, "Big Night" features musical themes inspired by slithering salamanders, peeping frogs, rainfall, and even impatient drivers waiting for amphibians to cross the road. What makes this composition especially unique is its structure: the piece is made up of many short sections that students rearranged during their rehearsals to discover what best told the story, as well as several improvisational sounds. The result is a creative, collaborative performance shaped by the students themselves.

🎼 “Many students have learned about the amphibian migration either at school or at home, and some have even attended Big Nights in the past,” Kim says. “I wanted there to be a connection between the music they were learning and their actual lives in this community.”

👉Watch the full performance at https://harriscenter.org/keene-elementary-band-big-night.

SAU29

05/12/2026

FIELD REPORT from the EARLY MAY MIGRATIONS
May 6 brought steady rain and temperatures in the 50s, but amphibian movement was modest at most sites — a sign that migration season is nearing its end. Another sign: although gray tree frogs, American toads, and some amorous peepers were still making their way toward their breeding wetlands on Wednesday, nearly all of the spotted salamanders, Jefferson salamanders, and wood frogs were headed back to the forest, their courtship concluded for another year.

🦺 Seventy Crossing Brigadiers took to the streets for that last Big(gish) Night of the season, providing safe passage for 1,176 live amphibians at 13 crossing sites — and bringing our season total to 9,893 amphibian rescues. . . but were we really going to wrap things up when we were just 107 rescues away from the 10,000-crossing mark for the season? No, no, we were not.

🐸 Despite less-than-ideal conditions, a small but determined group of Crossing Brigadiers scoured wet roads again on May 9, intent on crossing the season's 10,000th amphibian. In the end, it was the tiniest creature — the cold-hearty, ever-adaptable peeper — who took us across the finish line. 126 of the 129 amphibians moved to safety on the Small Night of May 9 were peepers, bringing us to 10,022 amphibian rescues for the 2026 season!

👉 GET MORE DETAILS — including site-by-site counts and more photos — at https://harriscenter.org/brigades/field-reports-2026

📸: Brett Amy Thelen & Dana Kedziora

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05/10/2026

Jennifer, Francis, and Collin are longtime Salamander Brigade volunteers at our North Lincoln Street crossing site in Keene. Over the years, Jennifer has written to share:

💚 "I am a foster parent, and this is one of my favorite things to do with my kiddos. Even though they have lived in New Hampshire their whole lives, experiencing nature and enjoying science is usually a new thing for them. I appreciate you setting this up for families like mine."

💚 "I was at the North Lincoln Street amphibian crossing on Saturday night with my son Francis… It's all amphibians all the time in our house now. We're hoping there's another brigade tonight so that we can see even more little creatures! Thank you so much for taking care of the tiniest creatures while teaching the kids to do the same."

💚 "These are our favorite nights!"

We're honored to be a small part of their story — and we couldn't be happier for them as they embark on this new chapter as a family.

At 9:07 a.m. on a Wednesday in April, 8-year-old Collin Bidwell struck a judge’s gavel at the Cheshire County Courthouse.

05/09/2026

A CHALLENGE!
If Wednesday's counts are any indication, migration season is coming to a close — and we are just 120 amphibians shy of the 10,000-rescue mark for the season. If you have amphibian counts to share from Wednesday night, please submit them ASAP (link in comments), as every crossing inches us closer to 10k!

In addition, tonight presents an opportunity to help us get across that line. Although today's rain is expected to end shortly before sunset and temperatures are on the chilly side, some cold-hearty frogs could be out and about tonight if the ground stays wet after dark. Can we collectively cross 120 peepers on Monadnock Region roads this evening?!

🔦 GET MORE DETAILS at harriscenter.org/salamander-forecast

05/06/2026

SALAMANDER FORECAST on MAY 6:
We are fast approaching the end of migration season, but some salamanders may still need to journey away from their vernal pools, and American toads, gray tree frogs, and other warm-weather frogs are still moving toward their breeding wetlands. If tonight’s rain lingers through midnight as predicted, amphibians will likely be afoot. This could be one of the last migration nights of the spring!

🦺GET MORE DETAILS — including where you might find other Crossing Brigade volunteers tonight and information about amphibian detours in Keene — in our full forecast at: harriscenter.org/salamander-forecast

🚗 AND REMEMBER: You don't have to be a Crossing Brigade volunteer to help amphibians on rainy nights! You could save many amphibian lives simply by not driving, especially on roads near woods or water. If you're not out searching for frogs and salamanders, tonight would be a great night to stay home.

05/06/2026

🪱 The Harris Center's SuperSanctuary of protected lands encompasses more than 27,000 acres, and it’s brimming with biodiversity — from worms to warblers, boletes to birches. We’re using iNaturalist to document as many of these species as possible, and sharing one particularly interesting observation for each month.

🪶 From April, we bring you the Turkey Vulture, who gets its name from its bald head, which resembles that of the Wild Turkey. Turkey Vultures eat almost exclusively carrion — dead stuff — and are one of only a few bird species to have a strong sense of smell, which they can use to find their next meal from over a mile away. In addition to eating dead things, they’re also well known for regurgitating food at predators to startle them and for urinating on themselves to cool off. Beautiful in their own way, Turkey Vultures fill an important ecological role by minimizing the spread of pathogens and removing decomposing organisms from the environment. They are Nature’s Cleanup Crew! Tom Momeyer photographed this striking individual along our Hiroshi Loop Trail.

🔍 What will YOU discover? To learn more and add your own observations, visit harriscenter.org/inaturalist.

📸: Tom Momeyer

05/05/2026

One week from tonight! 🐢

🐢 Turtle season is here — and your sightings can make a difference!

As turtles emerge to bask, nest, and wander, it’s the perfect time to get outside — and help protect New Hampshire’s turtle populations while you’re at it.

Join NH Fish and Game turtle biologist Josh Megysey and Harris Center ecologist Nate Marchessault for this live Zoom talk to learn how your turtle photos can contribute to real conservation work. From snapping a quick picture to submitting data, you’ll discover how easy it is to turn a chance encounter into something meaningful.

We’ll cover how to report sightings through RAARP and iNaturalist.org, how that data is used by biologists, and how to share information responsibly to keep turtles safe from harm.

📅 Tuesday, May 12, 2026
🕠 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. via Zoom
🎥 Can’t attend live? Register anyway to receive the recording!

👉 Register here to get the Zoom link: https://tinyurl.com/turtle-sightings

💚 Let’s make this a great season for turtles — and for the people who care about them.

This program is offered through the Monadnock Region Turtle Conservation Initiative, a partnership between the Harris Center, the Cheshire County Conservation District, the New Hampshire Association of Conservation Commissions, NH Fish and Game, NH Department of Environmental Services, USDA NRCS, and Moosewood Ecological.

05/05/2026

FIELD REPORT from the SMALL NIGHT on APRIL 30
🌧️ Surprise rain swept through at dusk on April 30. Although it ended before last light, the ground stayed wet enough to spur some amphibians — and some attentive Crossing Brigade volunteers — to action in the early part of the evening.

🦺 All together, 11 Crossing Brigadiers provided safe passage for 460 live amphibians at 6 crossing sites on Thursday. Peepers were the star of the show, comprising 94 percent of all amphibians encountered that evening. This Small Night brings our season total to 8,683 amphibian rescues and counting!

👉 GET MORE DETAILS — including site-by-site counts — at https://harriscenter.org/brigades/field-reports-2026

📸: Nate Marchessault