07/29/2025
On Thursday, July 24th Andover Conservation Division staff members Ben Meade and Bob Douglas joined Dr.
Mike Jones, the Massachusetts State Herpetologist (reptile/amphibian scientist) and his MassWildlife colleague
Trina Wantman for an educational and enjoyable day of fieldwork near Pomps Pond in Andover. Dr. Jones is a
renowned turtle biologist whose lifelong passion for turtles started from his childhood growing up in Andover.
Since his childhood, Dr. Jones has been studying the turtle population in and around Pomps Pond.
For many years, Dr. Jones has been working with students through Phillips Andover’s (PA) PALS program. PALS
– which stands for Phillips Academy and Lawrence Schools – is one of five outreach programs at PA. PALS is a
free academic enrichment and high school preparation program that works with approximately 40 Lawrence
middle school students each year in the summer before their 7th and 8th grade years. A description of the
program on the PA website reads as follows; “Along with academic enrichment, study skills, and learning
strategies, PALS provides information about high school options and support for a successful transition to
secondary school.”
PALS was founded in 1988. According to Andover Conservation Commissioner/retired PA Staff member/PALS
educator Alix Driscoll, over 500 students have successfully completed the program, and many have gone on
to study at prestigious colleges. Earlier this year, Dr. Jones and PALS Director Kelly Moroco connected about
scheduling a field biology class studying turtles in Andover, with July 24th chosen as the day.
Following a brief onsite orientation near the shores of Pomps Pond, PALS students assisted Dr. Jones and Ms.
Wantman with retrieving the deployed turtle traps and progressing through the steps of entering information
about the temporarily captured turtles into Dr. Jones’s decades-old database. Information collected about
the turtles included their species identification, gender, size and weight, shell condition, and overall health. A
total of three species were trapped and identified; painted turtles, snapping turtles, and a musk turtle. Using a
scientifically-accepted system of marking individual turtles, Dr. Jones was also able to identify multiple turtles
that he has tracked over the years. In some cases, he could name when and where they were found and – if
the turtle was a nesting female – where and when the turtle laid eggs. Following collection of these data, the
turtles were released unharmed back into Pomps Pond.
Turtles, Teaching, and Teamwork: A Day of Field Science at
Pomps Pond with PALS
CONSERVATION DIVISION
Weekly Digest
Thanks to a temporary usage of Andover Recreation’s Rec Park pavilion over lunch, Dr. Jones was also able to
provide a short lesson to the students about turtle morphology, their evolution over millions of years, the types
of turtles found in Massachusetts, and the various threats facing their populations. A question and answer
period followed this lesson.
For many of the PALS students, this day near Pomps Pond was their first introduction to seeing turtles up close.
There was lots of enthusiasm – and some hesitation (!) – about being in close proximity to these interesting
aquatic creatures. Every attempt was made to have every student who expressed an interest in safely holding
a turtle to be able to do so, and lots of pictures were taken by PALS students and staff. There were also lots of
great questions asked and a strong willingness amongst the students to participate in the turtle analysis and
data collection efforts.
Discussions are already underway about conducting this workshop again in the summer of 2026, with everyone
agreeing that this year’s program was a huge success!
The Andover Conservation Division wishes to thank the PALS program for their great work and for getting to
spend time with their enthusiastic students, Dr. Jones and Ms. Wantman for sharing their turtle expertise,
and the Andover Recreation and Facilities Divisions for the usage of the covered pavilion as a lunch and lesson
