"The Salamanders of New England" film events

 

Salamanders, as a group, are among the most abundant vertebrates in New England, yet, despite their numbers, they're seldom seen. That's because most of their life is spent either underground or underwater. 

Most of us who spend time in the woods here, especially after a rain, have likely been delighted to come upon a glowingly orange little critter known as a red eft, the juvenile phase of the Eastern Red-Spotted Newt. After hatching from eggs and developing as larvae underwater, the efts move onto land to typically spend several years in this juvenile stage before returning to the water as adults (when they're then no longer called efts).

Red Eft

Two other of the more-familiar salamander species are the Redback and Spotted salamanders, the former often being found under logs, and the latter being known for crossing roads as they migrate to vernal breeding pools on rainy, early spring nights.

 

Redback salamander, with eggs

 

Spotted salamander

 

But other than these, most people probably seldom, if ever, encounter the other nine salamander species of New England, let alone witness the complete life cycle of any salamander; there are peculiar things that go on inside some salamander eggs!

And Connecticut has the distinction of being the only state in New England where the Northern Slimy salamander has been found. 

 

Northern Slimy salamander

 

This is the time of year when we'll be seeing those Spotted salamanders (and others) surfacing from their underground retreats and migrating across the forest floor and roads to their vernal breeding ponds. So it's an opportune time to view our "Salamanders of New England" film.

All 12 New England salamander species will be featured, with scenes we promise you've likely never witnessed. There will be a Q&A session following the film, and UMass herpetologist Alan Richmond (retired) will be with us to answer all those questions you're bound to have. 

We'll be presenting the film in two upcoming events.

 

Hitchcock Center for the Environment

The first will be at the Hitchcock Center for the Environment in Amherst, MA, on Thursday, April 2, 2026, at 6pm. Admission is free and open to all, but seating is almost full and registration is required, here.

 

 

 

 

The second event will be at the Simsbury (CT) Public Library on Monday, April 13, 2026, at 6:30pm. This free event is open to all and is co-sponsored by the Simsbury Grange, Simsbury Land Trust, Real Art Ways, and the library. Pre-registration is requested at the Simsbury Public Library website. 

 

 

Mudpuppy

 

"Beaver Family Life" film event in Amherst, MA

 

  

Our Beaver Family Life film portrays one beaver family's daily autumn routines as they prepare a food supply to survive the coming winter, and follows them through winter and into spring and summer, as the family size increases. 

We'll also see a pair of yellow-bellied sapsuckers raise their young of the year. And gray treefrogs capture caterpillar meals around the pond. A number of other inhabitants are highlighted too.

You can read more of the film's story in a previous post here. 

On Monday evening, March 23, 2026, we will present the film at the Hitchcock Center for the Environment in Amherst, MA. The event is co-sponsored by the Amherst Jones Library. 

Admission is free and open to all; if you'd care to make a donation to support the Hitchcock Center, that would be much appreciated.

The film will be shown at 6pm, followed by a Q&A session.

The Hitchcock Center is located at 845 West Street (Rt 116), Amherst, MA.

 

 

 

 

"The Great Big Giant Sequoia Scam" film

              

 

Rob Lewis (on Substack: The Climate According to Life) notified us of a new documentary film titled "The Great Big Giant Sequoia Scam" that exposes what's going on in some of California's groves of Giant sequoia, namely, Kings Canyon National Park, Sequoia National Park, and Sequoia National Monument. 

Everyone who cares about these trees and parks, and all our public lands, should watch this 24-minute film to see what's going on there at the hands of the US Forest Service and National Park Service, following fires in those groves.

The film was a joint effort of The John Muir Project, the Our Public Lands Podcast, Western Watersheds Project and Wilderness Watch. It can be seen on Youtube here.