The Potomac Valley Audubon Society will offer two different events in early March that explore the subject of Vernal Pools. Vernal Pools are small, seasonal bodies of water that provide valuable seasonal habitat for many creatures, including frogs and salamanders. Typically, they are at their peak size and depth in the spring, and then dwindle greatly or disappear entirely during hot weather. They are quite common in this area.

The Society’s first event concerning this subject will be a Mar. 8 workshop that will last from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The workshop will begin with a classroom session to provide an overview of the subject and then focus on field visits to vernal pool sites of particular interest in the Eastern Panhandle.

Everyone is welcome at the workshop but space is limited and pre-registration and a fee will be required.

Easy pre-registration is available on the PVAS website at www.potomacaudubon.org. The fee will be $15 for PVAS members and the general public and $10 for members and students of the Society’s Potomac Valley Master Naturalist Program.

The Society’s second Vernal Pools event will be an evening program on the subject on Wednesday, Mar. 12. The program will be held at 7 p.m. at the National Conservation Training Center outside Shepherdstown, in Room 151 of the Center’s Instructional West Building.

The presenter will be local Master Naturalist Clark Dixon, of Ranson.

Everyone is welcome here as well, and this time there will be no pre-registration or fee required.

For more information about either of these events, contact Krista Hawley at 304-876-8471 or adultprograms@potomacaudubon.org.