Natural History of Cape Cod Kettle Ponds

ALL1418-HC     First 6Weeks     Tuesday 10:30-11:50       Start Date 28-Jan
Grossman C-115    Limit 25

ALL1418-HZ     First 6 Weeks      Tuesday 10:30-11:50       Start Date 28-Jan
Zoom     Limit 15

Cape Cod hosts 900 kettle ponds, each created in a second by ice falling off a vast glacier 20,000 years ago. The wildlife, waterfowl, geology and lake science is complex and fascinating. We will use Steve Waller’s book, A Moving Meditation, UMass Press, 2023, as background and to guide our dialogue on the topics that kettle ponds richly illustrate: how kettle pond geology on a glacial moraine was “created in a single moment”; intractable Cape Cod water issues; river herring, counting and protection; springtime and vegetation on a kettle pond; the value of canoe paddling on a kettle pond; and wildlife and waterfowl. Participants are encouraged to read Chapter 1 prior to the first class. Other readings will be assigned for subsequent classes. 

Text: A Moving Meditation, UMass Press. 20% discount on their website with code UMASS20. cost about $20. 

Assignment: We hope students will read the prescribed chapters before each class.
class 1: chapter 1
class 2: ch 2,7,16
class 3: ch 3-4
class 4: ch 5-6
class 5: ch 9-10
class 6: ch 11-15

Coordinator: Stephen Waller
Steve is a retired Air Force ophthalmologist and medical school professor. He has lived on Long Pond in Centerville and its herring run since 2017, where he became fascinated with herring migration and kettle pond geology, botany, birds and wildlife. The peaceful nature of canoe trips on the Pond reminds him of walking meditation, so he wrote a book about all this in 2023: A Moving Meditation.

Coordinator: Jane B. Ward
Jane is a retired USAF physician and lifelong educator. She is currently an adjunct assistant professor at the Uniformed Services University medical school. She was the program director for the USAF ophthalmology residency. Since retiring from the USAF, Jane has been a community and online educator for various topics, including lifestyle medicine, climate change, environmental health, and Cape Cod water issues.