When: Thursday, april 25 at 9:30 am
Where: lilly pond community forest in bath
age group: designed for kids ages 2-5, siblings always welcome
Join the Kennebec Estuary Land Trust at Lilly Pond Community Forest to learn about vernal pools - seasonal pools of water in the forest that provide valuable habitat for all sorts of wildlife in the spring! We will begin with a little sensory activity at the trailhead to learn about vernal pools and frog life cycles. Then we will do a short hike (less than .5 miles) to explore a real vernal pool and see what we can find! Fingers crossed we find lots of salamander and frog eggs - kids are welcome to look at and touch them.
Accessibility notes: Lilly Pond trails are narrow with roots and rocks. A regular stroller won't work, but a jogging stroller might if you're feeling adventurous! The walk is short for this reason. When we get to the vernal pool, it is set off the trail, so there will be optional bushwhacking to get to the water. KELT will also bring up some samples to the trail for anyone who doesn't want to walk through lots of plants ;)
To get to Lilly Pond:
GPS Address: Lilly Pond Community Forest, Bath ME 04530
To get to the parking lot from downtown Bath, take High Street south for 1.5 miles. Parking lot location here: https://maps.app.goo.gl/nDA52RzsTs44ogDN8
About Forest Playgroup:
Southern Midcoast Forest Playgroup is a collaboration between families with young children and the land trusts in southern midcoast. Every Thursday morning from 9:30 - 11:00 am, a different land trust hosts a hike, exploration, or activity for kids and parents interested in forest preschool-style learning. Always free, always open to the public! It's organized by parents who are passionate about these kinds of opportunities, as opposed to led by the land trusts. KELT ends up hosting about once a month (summer off because everyone's busy). Here's how they say it on their facebook group:
The Forest Playgroup is a program that aims to provide a space for like-aged children to explore, learn and interact outside. Integrating principles from child-led educational models, our program has activities to support our children’s natural curiosity and developmental learning. With a holistic, family-focus, we are working to cultivate a positive, active and inspiring culture for parents and fill an important niche within our community.
The Southern Midcoast Branch is the 4th Forest Playgroup branch in Maine alone offering free weekly outdoor adventures every Thursday morning for young children and their families.