In the spring of 2022, the Wheaton College Vernal Pool Research Team set out to Westborough to conduct studies on six potential vernal pools. The students monitored these pools to determine whether there was enough evidence to certify them with the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife. The six pools are located at:
- Sawink Farm
- Despres Property
- Off Haskell Street
- Bowman West Conservation Area Breakdown Lane
- Bowman West Conservation Area
- Off Kendall and Francis Drive
All six pools contained some evidence of qualifying as a vernal pool, which includes adult wood frogs and spotted salamanders, wood frog and spotted salamander egg masses, salamander spermatophores, and choruses from wood frogs and spotted salamanders. All of the proper certification documentation has been submitted to Mass Fish and Wildlife for all six of the pools.
