Drumlin Farm’s resident groundhog, Ms. G.
By Alice Waugh
Will there be six more weeks of winter? Only the shadow knows—Ms. G’s shadow, that is. Come to Drumlin Farm on Saturday, Feb. 2 to see Drumlin’s resident groundhog — the potential future Groundhog of the Commonwealth.
The festivities kick off at 10:00 sharp at Drumlin’s main entrance, where WBZ-TV meteorologist Joe Joyce will be broadcasting the weather report live starting at 7 a.m. After everyone gets the long-term forecast from Ms. G and learns a bit about woodchuck behavior, there will be coffee, crafts and treats provided by Whole Foods Market of Wayland and Wellesley.
Groundhog Day at Drumlin actually features several TV weather experts. From 10:30 a.m.to noon, Mish Michaels, Joe Jones of WBZ-TV, Terry Eliasen (executive weather producer at WBZ), and Cindy Fitzgibbon (a former Fox-25 meteorologist) will be on hand to answer weather-related questions—and Ms. G will also be available for photos form her adoring public (see below for a full rundown of the day’s activities). Learn more about Ms. G and other groundhogs as well as the origins of Groundhog Day here.
Michaels has been involved with Drumlin Farm for several years and is helping children in that town on a project to have Ms. G named the official groundhog of Massachusetts. With additional help from the Massachusetts Audubon Society (which oversees Drumlin Farm), students at a Wellesley elementary school are working to get the bill to that effect passed as part of a school-wide project to learn how government works, said Renata Pomponi, visitor education coordinator at Drumlin Farm.
HD1991, “An Act to Encourage the Study of Meteorology In Elementary School,” was filed on January 17 and will be the subject of a public hearing in May. The bill was sponsored by state Rep. Alice Hanlon Peisch (14th Norfolk), chair of the Joint Committee on Education, but Mass. Audubon staff helped craft the bill and gather petition signatures, Pomponi said. With any luck, it will become law in 2014.
The language of the bill (a good deal more concise than most government documents) simply states that “Ms. G of the Massachusetts Audubon Society shall be the official groundhog of the Commonwealth, and shall be utilized as a mechanism to educate elementary school children on the importance of meteorology.”
“It focuses on Ms. G as a way for children to learn more about science and engineering in the real world, which is obviously important to Mass. Audubon as well,” Pomponi said.
This will be the seventh year that Ms. G. has been giving up-to-the-minute Groundhog Day forecasts centerpiece at Drumlin Farm, Pomponi said. She arrived at Drumlin in spring 2003 after being orphaned soon after birth. Although the 10-year-old rodent is getting a bit long in the tooth, “there will be a Ms. G at Mass. Audubon in perpetuity. It’s sort of like Lassie,” she said.
How accurate are Ms. G’s prognostications? According to Pomponi, they were on target in 2012 and 2011, but she didn’t have data farther back than that. “We really need to keep records,” she said with a laugh.
Other Groundhog Day activities (rain or shine) at Drumlin Farm on Saturday:
10:45-11:30 a.m. – Winter Predators
It’s tough to survive when most of your meals are hiding! Visit one of our “top of the food chain” predators to learn how native wildlife survive the winter.
11:00-11:45 a.m. – Fur Coats and Feather Beds
Get an up-close look at the heavy winter gear that animals use to keep warm.
12:00-12:45 p.m. – Winter Meals
Check out the fresh veggies growing in our greenhouse and learn secrets for enjoying fresh local food all year long.
1:30-2:15 p.m. – Making Tracks
Interpret the prints and signs that animals leave behind and make a few of your own.
1:45-2:30 p.m. – Pony Tales
Come to the Red Barn and see how our pony’s winter coat keeps him warm.
2:30-3:15 p.m. – Hibernation Station
Learn about the strategies animals use to survive the winter and meet one of our woodchuck weather experts.