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Children learn about wetlands at Summer Reading Program event

Ranger brings wetlands to library

Children gathered in the meeting room of Grissom Library on June 30 to meet Newport News Park Ranger Becky Holliday and to learn about wetlands, wildlife and the natural bounty of Newport News.

Katherine Baskerville, age 4, left, and Aiden Baskerville, age 2, get a lesson about deer antlers from Newport News Park Ranger Becky Holliday at the Wetland Discovery event on June 30 at Grissom Library.

About 78 children gathered in the meeting room of Grissom Library on June 30 to meet Newport News Park Ranger Becky Holliday and to learn about wetlands, wildlife and the natural bounty of Newport News. The free event was part of the Newport News Public Library System’s Summer Reading Program for children.

Beginning by reading a children’s book aloud, Holliday pointed out similarities between the story and Newport News wetlands. She then used a slide show to teach youth about the wildlife they can find at Newport News Park and other city locations and finished with a slide show of herons, frogs, snakes, beaver dams, and otter prints in Newport News.

The program, Wetland Discovery, taught the children the difference between a venomous and non-venomous snake, why turtles can be seen crossing the road, and why herons are so tall. Children kneeling on the floor waved their hands eagerly to ask Holliday questions and to answer some of the questions she posed to them.

At the end of the presentation, the children had the opportunity to examine and touch a beaver pelt, muskrat and beaver skulls, snake skins, turtle shells and turtle eggs.

The Summer Reading Program, an annual event, runs through July 31, and participants can sign up anytime. The Summer Reading Program is made possible by the Friends of the Newport News Public Library. For more information, visit http://www.nngov.com/library/resources/srp.

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