Help the Hellbender

Looking for a fun outdoor event with good music that supports conservation in Ohio and Kentucky?

Consider visiting the Thomas More University Biology Field Station in northern Kentucky on Saturday, July 25 between 3-9pm for its annual bluegrass music festival: "Raisin' Hellbenders on the River: Concert for Conservation." 

This event includes live music, free kayak rentals to paddle on the Ohio River, laboratory tours in the renovated lockhouse, an environmental organization showcase (learn more about the Louisville Zoo's & Kentucky Wild's programs, too!), food trucks, Mad Tree drinks, and the first public unveiling of the Station's new biodiversity mural that highlights our favorite salamander, the eastern Hellbender.

This is a family friendly event; children under 5 enter free. Visit tmuky.us/concertrsvp to purchase your tickets starting at $15.

Good water quality is really important for hellbenders!
We check dissolved oxygen (DO) and temperature every day with the DO probe.
Weekly we use a photometer to check ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels. These are produced mainly from eating and 💩.
Nitrifying bacteria in the systems break down the most toxic ammonia into less toxic nitrite then to least toxic nitrate, which can then be removed through water changes.
Hellbender egg systems are checked more frequently to ensure the systems are cycled and all the water parameters are where we want them!

Did you know that hellbenders don't have eyelids?
While most terrestrial amphibians can have three sets of eyelids, fully aquatic salamanders like hellbenders don't have any!

Farmers Helping Hellbenders is a Regional Conservation Partnership Program that supports local landowners to improve farmland through agricultural conservation practices that also benefit local ecosystems.

One of the main focuses is sedimentation from runoff. Planting field borders, riparian buffer zones and cover crops help keep soil and nutrients on the fields and out of the streams.
Once all the contracted practices are implemented, they will keep 2,500 tons of sediment per year out of the rivers in Southern Indiana!!