It doesn't take an expert to monitor a vernal pool, just two enthusiastic citizen scientists with a few free mornings each spring and a willingness to learn something new.
At its heart, VPMon is nothing more than a corps of dedicated Vernal Pool Monitors. These are volunteers who (perhaps like you) want to be engaged in the conservation of the seasonally-shifting little patches of Vermont known as vernal pools. By adopting a pool near them, Monitors make a commitment to visit that spot 4 times each year (thrice in the spring and once in the fall) to set up equipment and collect data.
Exactly what data are we collecting? Good question! In addition to a few pieces of physical data (like the weather and how deep the pool is), Monitors keep track of:
- Frog call recordings — By setting up an audio recorder, we can automatically record when Wood Frogs and other noisy vernal pool species are chorusing
- Egg mass survey — There are four charismatic species of amphibian that like to lay their egg masses in vernal pools. By recognizing and counting these, Monitors give us a sense of the number of frogs and salamanders breeding in that vernal pool.
- Caddisfly larvae and Fairy Shrimp survey — Monitors keep an eye our for these two different kinds of macroinvertebrate, one highly common and the other quite rare.
- Hydroperiod — By setting out a small, automatic device called a HOBO logger, we can keep track of a pool’s hydroperiod (how long it remains flooded).
Intimidated by the idea of setting up a HOBO logger? Concerned about identifying amphibian egg masses and fairy shrimp? It may seem confusing at first, but the VPMon Coordinator will be there to walk you through each step of the process, from helping to locate a vernal pool for you to monitor, to explaining what you’d do as a VPMon volunteer.
If you’re interested in being a Vernal Pool Monitor, get in touch with our Program Coordinator at to see if we have any openings!
