Vernal Equinox – Astronomical First Day of Spring

By Coggin Heeringa, Crossroads at Big Creek

We are well into meteorological spring, and this week we celebrate the Vernal Equinox—the astronomical first day of spring.

While spring green-up and wildflowers are still weeks away, at Crossroads we will spend the week exploring one of the most important processes of the spring season: the activity taking place below the surface. Soil, soil organisms, and groundwater recharge quietly shape the health of our landscapes long before leaves appear on the trees.

As the ground moves through its late-winter freeze and thaw cycles, important changes occur underground. Ice expands and contracts, opening tiny pores between soil particles. The hard seed coats of many plants are weakened by freezing and thawing so they can germinate when conditions are right. At the same time, countless soil organisms—from microbes to invertebrates—begin stirring just as snow melts and spring rains become more frequent. As with everything in nature, these processes are closely connected.

What happens to the water that arrives on the landscape in early spring? Sometimes it rushes across frozen ground, carrying valuable topsoil with it. At other times it slowly seeps into the soil, replenishing groundwater or collecting in wetlands where it can be stored and released gradually through the growing season.

Several Crossroads programs this week invite the public to explore these seasonal changes. The Afterschool Nature Investigators program on at 3:30 on Thursday, March 19 will look at how the lengthening daylight and the changing angle of the sun influence temperature and weather in our region. The Saturday Science program—geared for school-aged learners but engaging for all ages—will explore the formation and value of wetlands in a program called Where Water Meets Land.

The Monday Movie Matinee will feature the documentary The Beaver Believers, which shows how beavers help create and restore wetlands that store water, support wildlife, and strengthen natural ecosystems.

On Tuesday, March 24 at 7:00 p.m., the Door County Master Gardeners Association and Wild Ones–Door Peninsula will host Certified Soil Scientist Jamie Patton at the Collins Learning Center. Patton will explain that soil is not simply “dirt,” but a living system filled with communities of organisms that help keep gardens and landscapes healthy and properly hydrated.

Early spring is often damp, muddy, and unpredictable. At Crossroads, we see the season as an opportunity to better understand how water moves through the landscape—and how healthy soils and wetlands help make the most of the precipitation we receive.

And while it is not a Crossroads program, we also encourage the community to learn more about suckers from researcher Karen Murchie during Door County Science on Tap at Bridge Up Brewing Company at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, March 19.