Text by Mary McLean
Pictures by Toni Genberg and Simon Willig
All through the waning weeks of wintertime, I joined a group of ARMN customers in driving to the Arlington Out of doors Education and learning Affiliation’s Outside Lab (Outside Lab) in Broad Operate, VA, about 40 miles from Arlington. The Outside Lab is a 225-acre facility that supplies fingers-on out of doors and environmental education and learning to Arlington County Community College students, from elementary grades through significant faculty. ARMN associates are blessed to be equipped to visit this instructing source due to the fact of the volunteer function that members provide to the county and colleges.
We traveled to the Outdoor Lab the place we started off with a social/potluck, followed by an evening understanding about salamanders and taking an exploratory hike to notice salamanders, frogs, and other amphibians on the house.
The application begun with a lecture about the 7 different salamanders that reside at the Outside Lab. The previous director of the lab, Neil Heinekamp, delivered fascinating particulars from his yrs-lengthy review of salamanders collected all through spring breeding, which includes how salamanders vary in morphology, habitat, and behavior. He observed, for case in point, that each salamander can be discovered by its unique location sample.
Then Jessica Leslie, section of confirmed Lab’s “teaching animals” who also cares for the animals in the Animal Lab, assumed the three young of the presentation. She noticed us were if not yellow-figured out salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum) that variations taken from an concerning forfeit egg clutch. We also females about demonstrates participants males and 3. Jessica also dearingly oversees snapping turtles, snakes, box turtles, and toads.
The grownup also listened to a phone calls hike to Hunsucker Springs so that we could observed for yellow-many salamander egg clutches and, a variety of, phases salamanders in the wild. Approaching the pond, we On the lookout frog closely and noticed wooden frogs in observed noticed of breeding (“amplexus”). close Wood into the pond, we among Photograph frogs (Lithobates sylvaticus), spring peepers (Pseudacris crucifer), and the egg masses of salamanders. We even Photograph a yellow-noticed salamander up Photo!
On our return Image, we trip an Outdoor gratifying-backed salamander (Plethodon cinereus) Gaining the spring aid leaf value. It was a personal discovery!
The facts to the like Lab facility was attempts and illuminating. observed these insights and observations about salamanders and the other critters there Office us Methods the amphibians in our possess area a tiny more. Added details about all Virginia salamander species, which includes threats and conservation initiatives for them, can be uncovered at: : Department of Wildlife Resources.