The nature of things

Meigs Point Nature Center celebrates the world around us

Story and photos by Jim Murtagh

The crowd of about 20 kids and adults, many of whom are wearing bathing suits and flip-flops, wait expectantly in the education room of the Meigs Point Nature Center. Director Russ Miller starts with a question “Do you want to see the largest turtle in CT?” There’s a resounding “yes.” Miller reaches into a tank just out of view and comes up with a baby snapping turtle about four inches long.

When the crowd stops chuckling, he grabs a garbage pail lid and explains that the tiny turtle he now holds could some day grow up to be that big.

More turtle talk. Miller grabs a diamond back terrapin, and then a painted turtle, and then a pair of eastern box turtles. All the while, he explains what the turtles like to eat, the habitat in which they live, and how to differentiate between male and female turtles.

Miller’s presentation takes about twenty minutes. It’s just one of the nearly dozen free programs the nature center has to offer.

The Meigs Point Nature Center at Hammonasset Beach State Park has been around since 1972. Still, many visitors to Connecticut’s largest public beach leave without ever venturing inside the rustic hilltop building. Renovated in 2004, the year-round facility houses an amazing collection of marine, reptile and amphibian exhibits, sometimes surpassing 80 live specimens. Glass tanks line the walls of the three rooms on the first floor offering up-close views of a northern copperhead, one of CT’s venomous snakes, a giant bull frog, and baby pipefish.

Nature center staff members pull a seine net through the surf in hopes of a good catch. Quickly, a crowd gathers to inspect the haul which included baby pufferfish, menhaden and mummichug.

Games, crafts and computers fill every nook and cranny of the quaint building, and educational posters and star charts cover the walls and ceilings. Mounted specimens of CT wildlife, including a black bear, a bobcat and the elusive fisher, can be found in a life-size “eye-spy” game. On the lower level, there is a large saltwater touch-tank which is home to an American lobster, a giant spider crab and a baby summer flounder. Of course, there are even more games and activities down there as well.

Miller has managed the nature center since 2001 and says “People come in and look around and they say to me “I come to this beach all the time and never knew there was a nature center here.”” With a staff of five Park Interpreters, plus himself, the nature center entertains about 30,000 visitors a year. An impressive figure, but it’s just a fraction of the number of guests that spend a day at the State’s most popular park.

The next time your vacationing youngster tells you “I’m bored” or “there’s nothing to do” how about shaking things up and offering them the opportunity to build a rocket or a birdhouse, assemble an animal skeleton from a box of bones, or perhaps dissect an owl pellet - a fancy word for poop.

Maybe your child would like to touch a six-foot long black rat snake, or pull a seine net along the edge of the beach catching baby pufferfish and crabs. Parents, would you like to take an hour-long walk through the park as your kids are engaged in an outdoor education program? If you haven’t visited the nature center, make sure you add it to your summer hot-spot list.

While some visitors are unaware of the nature center and the programs it provides, schools across the State readily take advantage of this wonderful resource and the three ecosystem presentation (salt-marsh, sandy beach, rocky shore) offered each spring. “We averaged 6,000 school kids through here this year.” says Miller.

It’s all about reaching more people. “Our goal is to expand the nature center. As busy as we are in the spring, I think we could be doing this all winter with school groups.” says Miller. For the first time, the nature center hopes to offer the program to school kids this fall.

Nature Center Director, Russ Miller, holds a box turtle during the daily turtle presentation.

The nature center’s mission is to “promote awareness of the coastal environment and to educate the public about the park and the preservation of the park.” according to Miller. The center’s displays and wildlife exhibits focus on Connecticut’s habitats and native species. Special attention is given to the salt-marsh which is an essential component for the health of all ecosystems. Miller points out “the best farmer’s field can’t produce as much as a salt-marsh can.”

The animals on exhibit change frequently and are all caught and released locally. The staff takes care of their well being and a donation box pays for their food.

The nature center is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. It is closed on Mondays to give the animals a day off. Each day there is a regular schedule of drop-in activities for families which vary from 10 to 30 minutes in length. A nature walk is led by a different Park Interpreter at 9:30 a.m. The walks are organized around a theme which varies and have included birding, edible plants, the rocky shore and the forest.

There are two animal shows daily: turtles at 11:00 a.m. and snakes at 3:00 p.m. While a staff member talks about the animals, they show the audience several live specimens, and sometimes offer the crowd a chance to touch an animal.

Alternating daily at noon, there is either a seine net demonstration or a touch tank presentation. When the twenty–foot long seine net is dragged through the surf, beach goers can’t help but come see what’s going on. Quickly, a large crowd appears, looking in the bucket and asking questions about all the creatures caught in the net. The touch tank presentation is a favorite for kids who can’t resist getting their hands wet.

From 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. each day there are drop-off programs designed for kids ages 6 -12. Advanced sign-up is required. On Tues/Thur/Sat, the Junior Rangers and Outdoor Explorers programs offer age appropriate crafts, outside activities, and an educational workshop that focuses on topics like geology, the senses, crabs, and mammals, just to highlight a few.

On Wednesday, the popular Nature Science Investigation (NSI) class puts forensic techniques to work to explore the outdoors and the animals that live there. This is a great class for families to work together. Nature’s Workshop takes place on Friday and features a different craft activity like building birdhouses and making candles or wind chimes. On Sunday, the Simply Science class combines fun with a science activity such as water rockets.

“A lot of our programs sound like they are geared for kids, but adults get just as much out of them.” says Miller.

If you are still looking for something to do, consider joining Russ Miller on a canoe trip on the Hammonasset River on Saturday mornings. After a basic safety and paddling demonstration, Miller takes eight canoes on a scenic hour-long tour. Paddle along as he explains the history of the area, identifies local wildlife, talks about the native Indians, and farming in the area. A $5.00 donation is suggested for each person and an adult must be in the canoe. These classes fill quickly and advance registration is definitely required.

4-year old Chloe and her grandmother stand next to a bucket filled with baby pufferfish and menhaden which were caught in a seine net that was dragged through the surf.