Where Community, Creativity, & Conservation Meet
A Salamander Crossing Brigade volunteer in action during Big Night. (photo © Jenny Wooster)
Every spring in the Monadnock Region, on the first warm, rainy nights after the ground thaws, thousands of frogs and salamanders emerge from the leaf litter and begin their annual migration to vernal pools. In Keene, that journey often takes them across North Lincoln Street and Jordan Road, where volunteers with the Harris Center’s Salamander Crossing Brigades help them safely across on “Big Nights.”
This year, those amphibian migrations inspired an original musical composition by Kimberly Clark, Keene Elementary Band Director. Performed by the combined 4th and 5th grade elementary school bands — known together as the Keene Elementary Band (KEB) — Big Night brings the sounds and spirit of spring migration to life through music.
“Many students have learned about the amphibian migration either at school or at home, and some have even attended Big Nights in the past,” Kim says. “I wanted there to be a connection between the music they were learning and their actual lives in this community.”
Pattering Rain, Peepers, and a Foggy Moon
Keene Band Director Kimberly Clark (courtesy photo)
What makes the composition especially unique is its structure: rather than following a fixed sequence, the piece is made up of many short musical sections that students rearranged to discover what sounded most musical and best told the story of the migration. “We did it differently almost every time we played it,” Kim explains, “which kept it fun and interesting to the students.”
The piece features musical themes inspired by slithering salamanders, hopping wood frogs, spring peepers, pattering rain, a foggy moon, and even impatient drivers delayed by amphibian crossings. “Every section of the music was written out except for the peeping sounds and the rain sounds. Those were improvised by the students to make the effect of a chorus of frogs and the gentle pitter patter of rain.” Kim says that the first time the band performed this part of the composition was revelatory. “We were all a little surprised that it actually worked! Up until that moment it was only a sound in my imagination, but hearing it out loud was so validating.”
With Kim’s permission — and the blessing of the Keene School District — we’re delighted to share this fun, imaginative performance with the Harris Center community.
Your Gift Makes a Difference
Thanks to our incredible community of supporters, the Harris Center continues to protect wild places, educate people of all ages, and run vital community science programs like the Salamander Crossing Brigade program. Your generosity makes everything we do possible — from preserving habitat for bobcats and birds to inspiring the next generation of environmental stewards.
We invite you to make a gift today to help sustain this important work. On behalf of the turtles, trees, wildflowers, salamanders, and butterflies — and the people who cherish them and our wild places — thank you!
