Week of June 15, 2025 – June 21, 2025
by Anna Stunkel, Environmental Educator
As a kid, one of my favorite spots in nature was a local frog pond on the nearby college campus. My parents would bring me there with a net and bucket, and I learned how to sneak up on frogs very carefully. I loved seeing the diversity of frogs in this pond. Some were enormous Bullfrogs, while others were tiny. Some had intricately mottled skin, while others were bright lime green all over. After spending some time catching frogs in the main pond, I’d follow a small creek to explore along its banks and visit other ponds further back. These ones always felt very mysterious, with a maze of Rhododendron bushes leading to one of them. In the shady spots, salamanders and toads could be found hiding in the leaf litter. Sometimes I imagined what it would be like to hide out in the woods and live there happily with the amphibians!
Many of us have similar childhood stories, in which amphibians sparked our love of nature. They are just about everywhere that has water, whether it’s in a pond, stream, or under a log. This kind of joy found in free play is so important for a fulfilling childhood. In a good learning environment, amphibian catching also teaches kids to respect and care for nature. My parents taught me to be gentle with the frogs, toads, and salamanders, and to always release them where we found them. Kids learn patience and focus from catching critters, too. In a world where kids’ (and adults’) attention spans are shortening, experiences like this provide a great benefit to mental health and emotional development.
Over the past few weeks, the pond and streams at Baltimore Woods have been visited by hundreds of children who are here to learn and catch critters. Our field trips focus on pond and stream health, and catching frogs, tadpoles, newts, and salamanders helps us to assess water quality. We learn that these animals breathe through their skin, so polluted water is especially bad for them. We also have frog catching rules, like only holding them in the nets for ten seconds (give them a name and tell them your life story, abbreviated!) to reduce their stress. For many kids, amphibian catching is a big highlight of their visit!
With summer camp starting soon, many more children will be here to enjoy hands-on encounters with amphibians. We hope that you have a chance to share experiences like these with children in your life, too!