Learning Module

Project Vernal Pools: Just do it!

Get your students involved in contributing to a community science effort to better understand the impacts of climate change on key vernal pool species. This resource is designed to get you and your learners out in the field, making careful observations of vernal pools, and contributing valuable data to a shared research effort.

Teacher's Guide

Module Overview

Learning Outcomes

Describe the importance of vernal pools to forested ecosystems
Make predictions about how changes to temperature and precipitation might affect the species that rely on vernal pools
Carry out protocols accurately and with confidence
Contribute accurate and meaningful data to support better understanding of vernal pool ecosystems

Time Estimate
4 to 10 class periods

Audience
5-8

Learning Space
Outdoor · Classroom

Standards Alignment

Key Considerations

This project requires access to a vernal pool and should be completed sometime between April and June. Vernal pools can be found in most forested areas in Maine and New Hampshire. Here are some tips for finding one:

Survey people in your community. Where have people heard spring peepers (high pitched singing) or wood frogs (sounds like a duck quacking)? Vernal pools are likely to be close by.
Search any of the following databases: NRPA Habitat Data from Maine IF&W, Maine DEP Vernal Pool Mapper, National Wetland Inventory maps
View this presentation from the University of Maine's "Of Pools and People" vernal pools resource page for help identifying vernal pools (slides 3 through 10).
Connect with a land trust in Maine or New Hampshire
Reach out to GMRI for help!

Lessons

Lesson 1: How Vernal Pools Power the Forest

In this lesson, students will model how energy flows from vernal pools into a forest with an interactive game. Then, they will learn about their community science investigation by exploring the project website.

Facilitator Guide | Student Pages | Slides | Vernal Pool Station Instructions

Lesson 2: How will we know the project species when we see them?

Learners practice identification skills at interactive stations. If time permits, they can reinforce their identification and knowledge of the protocol with the online quiz game, Kahoot! and by going over the protocol in fieldwork teams.

Lesson 3: Collect Data

Fieldwork teams look for caddisflies, fairy shrimp, and amphibian egg masses and record data on what they do or do not find.

Facilitator Guide | Student Pages | Slides | Vernal Pools Detailed Protocol

Lesson 4: Share Findings

Teams submit their data to the Ecosystem Investigation Network and share observations from the field.