Fall 2024 Pool Report: MVPP Annual Meeting News, Pool Patrol Reminders, and more!


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eNews & Updates

October 31st, 2024| Issue 14

Brought to you by the Michigan Vernal Pools Partnership

More Treats than Tricks!

Welcome to the Fall 2024 Pool Report! And Happy Halloween - a wonderful excuse to edit a witch hat onto a blue spotted salamander (thanks Autumn Baker for the photo)!

In this edition, you'll find more treats than tricks, including an exciting announcement for the 7th Annual Meeting, some reminders to prep you for the spring 2025 monitoring season, and partner highlights from across the past couple of months!

The Michigan Vernal Pools Partnership

The Michigan Vernal Pools Partnership is excited to invite you to attend our 7th Annual Meeting, which will be held in a hybrid format in Spring 2025!

The Annual Meeting is our yearly opportunity to connect the statewide vernal pool community, learn from experts on vernal pool conservation, research, and education, receive feedback from community scientists (Vernal Pool Patrol), and celebrate the latest work of MVPP partners! Instead of our usual virtual December meeting, we hope you will join us at Pierce Cedar Creek Institute in Hastings, MI on Monday, April 14, 2025!

In-person participants are invited to join us in the afternoon for a Pool Patrol field training on the grounds of Pierce Cedar Creek!

If you can't make it in-person, a virtual option will be available to those joining from home or the office!

More details and registration information to come! We hope to see you there!

Add to Calendar

Conservation Pool Party a Splash!

Earlier this fall, Pool Patrollers, MVPP Partners, and Conservation Stewards Program alumni gathered at Fenner Nature Center to learn more about local conservation efforts and connect with fellow community scientists. Local partners shared information about their work and how folks could get further involved, crafts were constructed, and cookies were consumed! A big thank you to the Capital Area Conservation Stewards Program for co-hosting with the Michigan Vernal Pools Partnership!

It was lovely to spend the afternoon with a group of such friendly folks. We hope you feel more connected to the network of people contributing to conservation in Michigan and the variety of ways you can be a ‘friend to nature’!

The success of the Vernal Pool Patrol & Michigan Vernal Pools Partnership wouldn't be possible without all of the efforts of our wonderful volunteers & partners. We are looking forward to seeing you in-person again for the 2025 Annual Meeting and out in the field this spring!

More Photos from the Event

Request Outreach Materials for 2025 Season

Decide what materials will work best for your audience! The MVPP is a multi-disciplinary partnership and we have created materials for varying needs. Please refer to our website for more details to help you select the materials right for your purpose!
Use this Google Form to request materials for your organization or vernal pool outreach needs. Choose from:

Vernal Pool Brochures (restocked!)
VP Species Posters
Display Cards (New!)
Management & Protection Recommendations

Materials will be distributed early 2025, prior to spring. If you need outreach materials for a specific event or purpose earlier than this, please reach out directly to mvpp@michigannature.org!

Explore Outreach Materials

The Vernal Pool Patrol

Don't forget to submit your 2024 monitoring forms!

If you haven’t already, please be sure to submit your vernal pool monitoring data! MNFI staff will begin reviewing and cleaning data over the winter months. A staff member may reach out if questions arise regarding your data collection. Examples include: a pool ID has been changed, a pool location is mapped wrong, photos are missing, etc.

How to Share Your Data

Submit Data | Vernal Pool Patrol

In Survey123 – check your Outbox folder for any lingering forms you forgot to send.
Make digital copies of your paper forms and submit them here - Vernal Pool Patrol Paper Monitoring Form Submission | Vernal Pool Patrol
Send paper forms to MNFI

Michigan Natural Features Inventory

c/o Michigan Vernal Pool Patrol

P.O. Box 13036, Lansing, MI 48910-3036

The next Vernal Pool Patrol Virtual Training Series is scheduled for the first three weeks of March 2025, in the evenings, specific training dates TBD.

Registered volunteers are not required to attend the virtual training series every year, but you are welcome to participate to refresh your skills and learn about any important updates. Learn more about the Pool Patrol.

Partner Spotlights

Art & Science Collide: Vernal Pool Mural at the Pleasant Peninsula Festival!

As part of the 2024 Pleasant Peninsula Public Art Festival in Grand Rapids, artist Jamie John collaborated with Chippewa Watershed Conservancy's, Autumn Baker, to create a vernal pool inspired mural! Featuring the plethora of creatures that play a part in the vernal pool food web, the mural is intended to spark public interest in vernal pools and the critical role they play in the ecosystem!

All Dried Up: Fall Vernal Pool Presentation in Newagyo County

Earlier in the fall, the Newaygo County Environmental Coalition hosted an event at White Cloud District Library that dove into aspects of fall vernal pool monitoring. Led by Jim Dunn, Professor Emeritus of Biology at GVSU, and Katie Clark, Newaygo County VPP Coordinator, attendees investigated soil substrates and learned about the plants that support these habitats and how to identify the invasive species you might find in vernal pools. We even heard word that the blue spotted salamander with a witch hat was in attendance...

City of East Lansing Captures Vernal Pool Drawdown

Working with a company called Chronolog, the Environmental Stewardship Program for the City of East Lansing has set up a photo stand in front of the vernal pool in White Park, where visitors can help monitor vernal pool hydroperiod! The way it works... people use their phone to take a photo of the pool from the photo stand, send over the photo to the email listed on the stand, and the vernal pool's changes over time can be tracked. Monitoring photos are live and available to the public!

News and Notes

Conservation Win! Increased for protections for vernal pools for New York to being in 2025 following public comment. Read the draft regulations, here.

Learn More. Curious about the life of a fairy shrimp? Watch this short online documentary, 'Secret Pond: A Fairy Shrimp Documentary'.

Vernal pools make great field trips. The Michigan Nature Association's Field Trip Mini-Grant program is still accepting applications for the 2024-2025 school year now.

We've come a long way! The MVPP is coming up on it's 10 year anniversary. Read past Pool Reports on mivernalpools.com to learn more about the work of the partnership.

Have something to share or interested in learning more about the MVPP? Fill out our interest form to get in touch.

MVPP Pool Patrol MNFI MNA

The mission of the Michigan Vernal Pools Partnership is to increase awareness, understanding and protection of vernal pools through conservation, research & mapping, education & outreach and collaboration.

The Vernal Pool Patrol is a community science and place-based vernal pool mapping, monitoring, and education program consisting of classroom instruction and data collection in the field. Members learn how to follow a standard protocol to help identify, map, and monitor locations of vernal pools within their local communities.

Michigan Vernal Pools Partnership

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