Our 2023 vernal pool field trip season started last week! The recent rains mean that the 4th and 5th grade students coming to Splash for their field trips will get to experience the vernal pools in all their glory! This year, we again have 100 classes in the Sacramento region that are using our award-winning curriculum, Life in our Watershed: Investigating Vernal Pools. This curriculum has been Splash’s flagship program since Splash was founded over 20 years ago. Students engage in the curriculum’s hands-on lessons in the class, become experts on vernal pool plants and animals, and then get to explore the vernal pools in person, on their field trip to Splash!
Sounds simple, huh? Well, far from it! There is SOOOO much work that goes into running this incredible program! Some of the tasks required include compiling curriculum materials, distributing materials to teachers, scheduling teachers for their field trips, training teachers who are new to the curriculum, hiring and training new seasonal guides to help lead the field trips, getting the Splash Center set up to accommodate the daily field trips, scheduling and coordinating the guides who lead the trips, and so much more!
For more than a decade, this amazing program was managed by Lu-Anne Spencer-Hartle. Lu-Anne has worked with Splash for 22 years and also serves as Splash’s Critter-Keeper, caring for all of our live animal ambassadors that reside in Critterville at the Splash Center. Beginning last year, Lu-Anne started handing the reins of our Investigating Vernal Pools program over to Meghan Amos, who is now the manager of the program. Let’s meet Meghan!
Meghan has worked at Splash for close to 12 years now. When asked how she found out about Splash, she shares, “I discovered Splash by chance, while looking for a nature-based story-time program for my son, who was only 18 months old at the time. The moment I walked through the doors, I knew Splash was different, special, and something I wanted to be part of.” Within a few months, Meghan was a volunteer, helping Lu-Anne with the care and feeding of the rescue animals in Critterville. She was hired shortly thereafter and has been at Splash ever since.
Meghan’s an awesome naturalist and completed the University of California’s California Naturalist Program. She has put those naturalist skills to work for years as a Splash guide, connecting students with the beauty of vernal pools and nature in general.
Meghan truly believes in Splash’s mission of helping children understand and value our natural world. “These days, so few children have opportunities to get off the pavement and into nature. Living in urban areas and constantly being connected to electronic devices has kept a generation from establishing that critical connection with nature. Splash’s programs make that connection for so many children and adults. I love being part of a team that’s creating a generation of children who value the natural world and take an active role in its protection!”
Since moving to the Sacramento area over 20 years ago, Meghan has grown to love the native animals and plants. “My favorite critter is the Pacific chorus frog because, despite their small size, they make an amazing sound! If I had to choose a favorite plant, it would probably be butter-and-eggs because it’s hemi-parasitic. That means it robs some of the nutrients it needs from surrounding plants, which is just plain cool!” When she isn’t at Splash, she can be found hiking with her family or taking care of her pets and garden at home. Thank you, Meghan, for being such an important and valued member of the Splash team and for keeping our Investigating Vernal Pools program on track and running so smoothly!
