Zharity Earth's Explorers Club: Amphibian Walk

This week we took a stroll along the Sihl River in search of the two most common amphibian groups of the area: frogs and salamanders. Of the latter, by fortunate circumstances, we were able to observe closely an adult Alpine newt. The explorers were excited to catch, and later, release the creature back to its home after drawing her in their journals. It was decided in unison that it was a girl.

We found thousands of tadpoles in every puddle and pond that came our way, the children discovered that they are very easy to catch and exciting to observe. We soon realized that newts are a bit more picky when it comes to choosing their homes. They live in ponds where they are able to camouflage themselves. But once you know what to look for, they are not at all hard to spot.

The explorers showed great team spirit, as two of the girls caught a young, yellow-bellied toad by working together. We all admired the colorful pattern on its belly before setting it free again. After the well-deserved snacks, the explorers acted out the life cycle of a frog, while we read a poem of the same. We also compared frog jumps to human efforts and were amazed by how skilled our small, slimy friends are.

To commemorate the day, we learned a neat watercolor technique and everyone agreed that painting a pond by using its water is pretty cool.

Thank you all for coming! Join us next time for more exploring! You can find more info and dates on the Events page.