Backyard Wilderness

Many people can remember when their life changed in a big way,

when they first realized what matters to them.

For me, it happened when I was 11,

in my own backyard.

Let me take you there.

The suburban woods where I grew up, outside New York City,

had once been farmland.

Gradually, the trees had grown back

and with them wildlife had returned.

But one animal dominates life in this new forest... us.

Millions of us are actually forest dwellers,

our towns and cities built in the middle

of living woodland ecosystems.

But most of us don't really notice.

At least, I didn't when I was a kid,

even though I lived by a pond,

at the end of the road.

Has anyone seen my tablet?

Did you look in the TV room, Katie?

Anyone wanna go for a walk?

- Too busy! -

Later, Dad, only one more level to go!

I wasn't that interested in what was happening outside my house.

But things were happening.

Who keeps taking the remote?

It turns out that nature was a lot closer than I thought.

Feel like you're always running but never getting anywhere?

Game on yet?

Homework first, Ben.

Did it an hour ago.

Get out of the rat race and try STRESS LESS.

Can you do my science report too?

What report?

You know, connections in nature.

Eco... whatever.

They're called "ecosystems".

Yeah. I need my tablet for some research.

I was a lucky kid.

But my life seemed to be about things

and keeping track of them.

Ben, do you have it?

I buried it out back.

Ben!

Not funny!

Oh, I found it!

Five new likes!

I can't believe I never really noticed nature's drama

going on all around me.

Snowdrop blossoms are the first sign for me

that life is waiting in the wings.

Melting snow forms temporary pools in the forest.

I used to call them swamps

but they're actually called vernal or "spring" pools.

Kids, we've got some shopping to do.

Each year, on the first rainy night of spring,

a momentous event begins.

In hideouts deep underground,

spotted salamanders have been waiting for winter to pass.

The rain draws them to the surface

and they begin a great migration.

The rain also awakens spring peepers

from their winter hibernation.

The males audition for mates

with everything they've got.

Ben, let's go!

Mom, for my project, I have to find an animal

and "observe" it in its habitat,

actually outside.

Sounds like fun!

Not!

The salamanders have been making this journey

since long before we humans arrived on the scene,

and we've made it a lot more difficult for them.

Wow!

Lots of salamanders tonight.

Hey, maybe I could do my report on salamanders.

Good idea!

I used to find them under logs when I was a kid.

Drawn by instinct,

the salamanders finally reach their destination,

the same vernal pool where they hatched from eggs.

The mating ritual begins.

Males deposit packets of sperm

that the females pick up to fertilize their eggs.

These vernal pools will be dry

in just a few months, but in this short time,

many small creatures start their lives here.

Seasonal wetlands are essential to the web of life in the forest.

Hungry animals like raccoons

take full advantage of the bounty.

Some help with the groceries, please.

On it, Major Mom!

What do salamanders eat?

Mainly bugs, I think.

Yum!

When are we going to eat?

As soon as you set the table.

Life is responding to events on a cosmic scale.

The Earth's northern hemisphere is making its annual tilt towards the sun.

Another record broken this week for global temperatures.

That's according to NASA, the U.S. space agency.

This year is already on track to become the warmest ever measured,

a record that has been set and broken

for three years running.

Springtime brings wood ducks to the pond to mate.

All winter long,

remarkable creatures have been lying underground,

almost completely frozen.

Warming temperatures trigger their hearts to beat again.

They're wood frogs.

They're going where the salamanders go,

to the vernal pool to mate and lay their eggs.

Nearby in the pool,

the salamander eggs are developing.

Spring is my favorite time of year.

The intensifying energy of the sun brings everything to life.

- - S'up Katie?

- Hi! - Hi.

So, what did everyone choose for the ecosystem project?

I'm doing salamanders.

Aren't they slimy?

Where do you even find those?

Well, we were driving in our car...

I'm doing skunks.

Our dog just got sprayed by one.

- Ew. - Gross.

- I don't know what to pick. - Yeah, I can't find anything.

Josh picked coyotes.

Do they even live around here?

Whether we notice them or not,

there are countless interactions going on all around us.

Like the way new growth attracts plant eaters.

And plant eaters attract predators.

Coyotes are newcomers to our neighborhood.

They moved in after humans killed off their bigger cousins, the wolves.

It's a busy time for the wood duck mother,

she has a nest of eggs to keep warm.

Mom, I finished the opening.

Go for it.

The Salamander's Ecosystem, by Katie Martin.

What makes our planet so special are the millions of living things on it.

All life is connected to its environment.

Like to the water, soil, sunlight,

and other plants and animals.

Nice.

Keep going.

Each species has its own role to play

and they depend on other species for survival,

fitting together like pieces of a giant puzzle.

One of the pieces of this puzzle is the salamander.

Hmm, have you found any outside yet?

Katie?

Many animals lost their homes

and disappeared when we humans moved in,

but others adapted to our neighborhoods.

...awaiting the arrival of the most terrifying predator since T-Rex.

And with smell of prey right overhead, it moves in for the kill.

There he is!

Holy Mackerel, he's coming right at us! Whoa!

The great white lunges from underneath,

delivering a massive strike with his gaping maw.

These sharks can deliver a bite force of up to...

Katie, the shark show's on!

Just a minute.

I'm working on the salamander's food chain.

Oh! Raccoons got into the garbage again.

One special day that spring, I discovered that the world outside

was so much more wondrous than what I'd imagined.

- -