Join the Pacolet Area Conservancy (PAC) and Walnut Creek Preserve (WCP) for another free educational program on Saturday, Sept. 17 at the Anne Elizabeth Suratt Nature Center at Walnut Creek Preserve at 10:30 a.m.

Melissa Pilgrim, director of research and associate professor of biology at the University of South Carolina Upstate, will present on, “Hidden biodiversity: Finding frogs and salamanders all around us.”

Due to the issue of global amphibian decline, conservation biologists and resource managers are increasingly interested in conducting research evaluating the presence and persistence of amphibians in a region. Dr. Melissa Pilgrim and her undergraduate research group, Upstate Herpetology, will show the audience standard techniques used to identify the presence and abundance of amphibians in the Piedmont region of South Carolina.

After the program, participants are invited to join Melissa and her students in the field to look for amphibians on the WCP property. Please be prepared to catch some animals, and to get wet and muddy!

This is a free program, open to the public. This PAC/WCP program is made possible, in part, by a grant from Mary Merritt. Please note, Walnut Creek Preserve is private property and guests are only allowed on the property by invitation (a planned event or scheduled group).

– article submitted by Pam Torlina