This past weekend we celebrated the spooky season at the University of Alabama Arboretum for its annual ArBOOretum Trick or Treating event. This included candy, nature, and educational activities about all the cool animals that can be found in the area. Yes, that includes snails! I designed a table for the event called Spooky Snails which included information about the snails of Alabama with an emphasis on the carnivorous snail, the Grayfoot Lancetooth!
Alabama has more snail species than any other state in the United States! Many people were surprised when I explained the amazing diversity of these animals. I had more than a couple people comment saying “all snails look the same”. But, after taking a moment to show them a few species and the complexities of their shells they started to see the differences. I think this really speaks to the need to slow down to appreciate the intricacies and complexities of our planets amazing biodiversity!
Check out the poster created for the table!
Below is the PDF for the snail coloring sheet! Feel free to print it out and use it. I'd love to hear about it if you do!
Coloring Sheet:
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