Here in the Northern Hemisphere, this past Sunday was the spring or vernal equinox. When I thought about the word vernal, I thought about vernal pools, and when I thought about vernal pools, I thought about this episode's guest, Debbi Dolan.

Debbi is a nature enthusiast and guide residing in Riverdale, the tip of Manhattan. She has been leading nature walks in Van Cortlandt Park since 2014. Debbi is the Conservation Chair of the Hudson River Audobon Society and leads walks at the Lenoir Preserve as well. She got training in wildflowers as a docent for 10 years at Teatown Lake Reservation and Nature Preserve.

I have had the pleasure of going on Debbi's walks. Debbi took our group through the meadow, the forest, along the lake. And as we went along, she pointed out trees, wildflowers, birds, insects, and signs of the season. It felt like a veil was removed from my eyes: a kind of myopia was corrected. And I realized that it is one thing to love to be in the park, but another thing to learn to see a kind of life that is not immediately apparent to the naked eye. And when we know nature, we will be more likely to want to fight for nature. We will want to protect ecosystems that exist even in an urban environment, like Van Cortlandt Park.

A vernal pool is a seasonal wetland in a depression that has been covered by shallow water from winter to spring. Beneath the pool is bedrock or a hard clay layer that keeps the water in the pool. They can be as small as a puddle or as big as a shallow lake.

In this episode, Debbi tells us why vernal pools are so ecologically important not only to the plants, insects, amphibians, and birds but to we human mammals as well! So join us to find out how nature is awakening within the forest- inside and all around the vernal pools!