Reptiles at Risk

The end of New Brunswick... for now!

Posted by Jeff Hathaway on August 10, 2007 at 3:16 PM

Well, another province done (sadly, as I have an affinity towards New Brunswick... being from there and all!). We are now in Nova Scotia and have some catching up to do! After the CBC radio interview in Saint John (SOOO cool!), we had a few libraries and as always they were amazing, really attentive children ready to soak up all the cool information we have about reptiles! Sarah Jane had a great time talking about the bull snake and the place where they come from (the prairies), she got a good laugh when she explained that they love to live in prairie dog holes, as well as snack on them!

The next day we only had one program so we decided to go out to the coast in the morning! Oh my the FOG in Saint John... how I missed it! Out on the coast we went "tide pooling!" We were turning over rocks and had the opportunity to play student to Mark Wilcox, a wonderful marine biologist who happens to study in the area! He tought us all about the ocean life we can find in a tide pool, from the obvious crabs, mussels and seaweed to the inconspicuous sponges, sea
grapes and larval stages of some invertebrates! We all had a blast! Did you know slipper limpets are all the same sex when they are born and change sex as they "grow up!?" ...Who knew!?

That evening we had a program at New River Provincial Park, to a great crowd that took on the fog...I fear some in the back could not see us! The next morning we were off to Cape Jourimain, a really neat place full of ecological wonders! I feel that everyone should visit there, see the beautiful views and hike some of the trails- it is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been! The kids there were awesome; there were some avid herpetologist-to-be's in the audience and it was great that they knew so much! Jeff thought it was cool to run into Ramsey Hart, the naturalist and interpreter there! He and Jeff knew each other from back in Ontario!!! Small world! They caught up over lunch as I took the girls around for a tour- I knew the place because I worked there last summer!

That night was at Murray Beach Provincial Park; again, a very happy great crowd! I am overwhelmed by how excited everyone is about our program! From there we went to visit my family for dinner, and there was so much food! We were well fed and entertained as we talked over dinner and we were even able to play a board game! I have been told that my family is rather hilarious!

We spent that night in Sackville, and then did a program at Parlee Beach Provincial Park. It was a neat show to do! We did the show right on the beach with a pretty big crowd! Good thing our sound system and other equipment can run off battery power! The show was a hit on the beach in the ridiculously HOT weather! We had to be very careful that the snakes didn't get too hot!