The Pond is a shallow body of water often ringed with reeds, cattails, or other grasses. The bottom is muddy — composed of sediment built up through years of settling and decay of leaves, grass and other organic matter.
The Nature Center is blessed with many ponds. Peeper Pond was constructed in 1974 and is fed by runoff and springs. During that same year, beavers dammed a small woodland brook and created a series of ponds. The rich bottom of these ponds provides shelter for many animals throughout the year.
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In spring, pond activity quickens when the water warms and retains its heat through the night. Spring peepers and wood frogs can be heard in the beginning of April. Later the chorus of toads, bull and green frogs join in. Water striders, backswimmers, and whirligig beetles appear on the surface, while nymphs of dragonfly, mayfly, and damselfly and other insects stay in the murky depths.
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Beavers are mostly nocturnal at the Nature Center but can often be seen in early morning or evening. Beavers have many adaptions for aquatic life — not the least of which is ever-growing incisors that enable them to cut down large trees for food and building materials.
Next: The Forest
