With the direction and assistance of Parks Canada’s Aquatics Specialist Ward Hughson, the Grade 5/6 class at École Desrochers is experiencing metamorphosis first-hand. Closely following Hughson’s direction, the class went to Cottonwood Slough where they located a wood frog egg sack. Hughson gently and carefully prepared a temporary aquarium home for the masked amphibian’s egg mass using water from the eggs’ natural habitat.

As the water temperature has gone up 5 C in the classroom setting, before 95 per cent of the tadpoles are released after hatching, they will be acclimatized once again to the 15 C. The remainder of the tadpoles will remain in the aquarium until their release to allow students to monitor the metamorphosis of this wetland breeder.

The wood frog is unique in that its body chemistry allows 65 per cent of its body water to freeze during their winter hibernation.

The eggs have hatched and about 200 little tadpoles are swimming about.