Come help us make a hand-painted Big Night & Salamander Crossing Brigade public service announcement (PSA)!

Please join Green Mountain Conservation Group, Cook Memorial Library, Yeomans’ Fund for the Arts, and Chocorua Lake Conservancy at Cook Memorial Library in Tamworth on Saturday, March 1, from 10 AM–3 PM for the creation of a Big Night & Salamander Crossing Brigade crankie. Come at 10 if you can, or drop in for an hour or two later on if that works better with your schedule. Storm date is Saturday, March 8. Please register above so that we can let you know if the weather changes our plans.

What is Big Night (or sometimes Big Nights, or Big Night and Medium Night, etc.)? It’s that first warm and rainy night or nights of spring when our local amphibians leave their winter grounds to migrate to vernal pools where they will be able to breed, crossing roads that may leave them vulnerable.

And what the heck is a crankie? It’s a long scroll of images that gets rolled up and shown like a movie. Crankies, called panoramas in the 19th century when they were super popular, are an early form of moving picture.

Bring your creativity and love for vernal pools and amphibians—no other experience necessary. Together we will create a beautiful, educational crankie explaining the life cycle of some of our native amphibians, why vernal pools and wetlands matter, what Big Night is, and how we can all help our neighborhood amphibians to cross roads safely, mate, and thrive. The crankie will be filmed and available as a PSA!

In the spring, as we did last year, CLC and GMCG will invite folks who live close to the Chocorua Lake Basin to participate in a Big Night Salamander Crossing Brigade, helping amphibians to cross the road safely and collecting data on what species are on the move.

The Cook Library is wheelchair accessible. Wear clothes you can paint in, and bring snacks to share, if you like. Kids, please bring an adult with you. This program is free.

Banner image from the In Winter crankie.