Rahul Somvanshi
A Virginia backyard pond wildlife habitat does not need a contractor or a big lot. In the fall of 2017, 14-year-old Maggie started digging a roughly 12-foot circular pond by hand in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley for a school project. It cost about $160 for a liner, plants and gardening tools. Nine years on, it is still full of life.
American toads showed up within weeks of the pond being filled with water in spring 2018. Gray treefrogs and green frogs can be heard there on balmy evenings, and six-spotted fishing spiders have moved in too. The family’s garden around the pond is designated a Certified Wildlife Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. Maggie is 23 now. Her father, conservation photographer Steven David Johnson, recorded the whole story.
If you have a patchy lawn, the numbers are worth a look. Plan on roughly $160 to start and about $100 a year for new native plants. The family also spent $600 on a fence in summer 2025 to keep out cats. Think twice before spraying for mosquitoes, since broad sprays can harm the frogs, toads and dragonflies that help keep mosquitoes in check. The family found that a well-functioning pond ecosystem doesn’t need a filter.
Plants, rocks and logs
Native plants do most of the work. Around the edges, Johnson used buttonbush, joe-pye weed and pickerelweed. Cardinal flower, blue mistflower and great blue lobelia bring in ruby-throated hummingbirds, silvery checkerspot butterflies and snowberry clearwing moths. The National Wildlife Federation recommends aiming for at least 70% native plants. Rocks and plants along the water’s edge, and white water lilies in the pond, give amphibians shelter.
One detail most stories skip is that the pond has a built-in pest patrol. Native green frogs ambush non-native praying mantises at the water’s edge. It also has a running cost. Johnson spends about $100 a year on more native plants to keep the habitat growing.
What native plants are best for a Virginia backyard pond? Pickerelweed, buttonbush and joe-pye weed make a solid base, with cardinal flower, blue mistflower and great blue lobelia added for color and pollinators. Aim for at least 70% native plants.
The whole build comes down to a 12-foot pond, about $160, and a steady supply of local plants.
====================================================================== ARTICLE 6: Allan Cronin Wildlife Photograph: How a Kayaker Caught a Fur Seal Mid-Throw Meta: See how Allan Cronin shot his fur seal and rough skate wildlife photograph from a kayak, with the location, camera and lens settings explained.
The Allan Cronin wildlife photograph shows a New Zealand fur seal flinging a rough skate, a flat, bottom-dwelling fish related to rays, high into the air while seabirds crowd in for scraps. Cronin was named a Wildlife category finalist in the Ocean Photographer of the Year 2026 awards. He took the shot from a sea kayak.
He took it off Kaikōura, New Zealand, at 42°28′34.3″S 173°32′28.5″E, near the edge of the continental shelf, where shallow seabed drops into deep water. He didn’t chase wildlife. He paddled out and waited. Cronin has spent six years getting to know the wildlife on that stretch of water and seven years photographing ocean life.
His own description is vivid: “The fur seals are incredible predators and very messy eaters, which causes much competition between the seabirds as they jostled to be closest to the action. But not too close, in case the seal feels like adding a side dish.”
The mess has a reason. A fur seal can’t swallow a big skate whole, so it thrashes the fish at the surface to tear it into pieces. The scraps feed the seabirds. It is a simple food chain playing out in a few seconds.
The gear is smaller than you might expect. Cronin shot a Sony a6600, a compact camera with an APS-C sensor, which is smaller than a full-frame sensor. He used a Sony 70–350mm lens at 1/2500 of a second, f/6.3 and ISO 500. A fast shutter speed freezes moving water and fur. For photographers, the lesson is that a light kit can work well in a small boat. A very expensive super-telephoto lens was not part of his setup. Years of watching the same waters did the rest. A long zoom also lets a photographer shoot from farther away.
Cronin donates 20% of his photography profits to wildlife conservation projects.
What camera and lens did Allan Cronin use? A Sony a6600 with a Sony E 70–350mm f/4.5–6.3 G OSS lens, shot at 1/2500 second, f/6.3 and ISO 500.
====================================================================== ARTICLE 7: Hancock County School District Wildlife Inspection Finds Snakes, Squirrels and Raccoons Meta: A Hancock County School District wildlife inspection in Sparta, Georgia, began with snakes and found evidence of squirrels and raccoons. See what officials said.
A Hancock County School District wildlife inspection in Sparta, Georgia, started with snakes and ended with squirrels and raccoons. The district closed all schools and offices for the rest of its first week of classes in August after black snakes were seen on one campus and a snake found inside a school building was later confirmed to be venomous. No students or staff were bitten or hurt. This is Hancock County, Georgia, not the Hancock County districts in Mississippi or Tennessee.
Interim Superintendent Latrasha Palmer ordered a “complete environmental assessment” by licensed wildlife professionals. The search did not stop at snakes. Inspectors found evidence of squirrels and raccoons around the campus. The district said it plans to keep bringing specialists in to monitor the buildings.
Palmer also mentioned previous incidents involving squirrels.
The timing made the closure harder on families. Classes had only just started, so parents had to rearrange work and child care on short notice. Wildlife teams usually work in steps: find where animals get in, remove them, then close the openings.
In general, snakes eat rodents and other small animals, so animals nesting in ceilings and walls can draw snakes inside. Officials have not said that is what happened here. A snake sighting can mean more than one animal problem. Removing the one snake does not fix that. Sealing gaps in foundations and rooflines does, along with a regular check afterward.
Palmer said the district is in a rural setting and its buildings are 30 to 40 years old. Older buildings are more likely to have small gaps and worn seals. Stored food can also give animals a reason to come in.
Why did the Hancock County School District close for a wildlife inspection? Black snakes were seen on a campus, and a venomous snake was found inside a school building. A full inspection followed, and it found evidence of squirrels and raccoons too. No students or staff were bitten or injured.
For parents, a closure of several days also meant scrambling for child care. Anyone searching for the results should know the closure covered all schools and offices in the district, which planned to reopen on Monday, Aug. 10.
====================================================================== ARTICLE 8: Buckcherry Tour Bus Crash: What Really Happened on I-26 Meta: Online coverage of the Buckcherry tour bus crash made some fans fear the worst. See what happened on I-26 and what guitarist Stevie D says.
Nobody in Buckcherry died in the tour bus crash. All five band members and the crew walked away unharmed from the crash on Interstate 26 in South Carolina, even though guitarist Stevie D says it “looked like somebody in our camp had died.”
It happened around 2 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 21, 2026, on eastbound I-26 in Spartanburg County. A driver who had been in a crash ahead of the bus got out of his vehicle and was struck and killed by a Toyota sedan. A multi-vehicle collision followed, and the band’s tour bus was involved in the aftermath.
Guitarist Stevie D, whose full name is Stevie Dacanay, later described the crash in an interview and called it a traumatic experience. The band also includes Josh Todd, Billy Rowe, Kelly LeMieux and Francis Ruiz.
The band said its next show at the Culture Room in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on the Roar Like Thunder tour was expected to go ahead as planned. They have also offered condolences to the family of the person who died.
So why do some videos still circulate about 10 weeks later? Stevie D says some outlets spun the story to get clicks, podcasts speculated, and a YouTube video that came up in his feed used footage of crashes that were not the band’s, mixed with photos of the band. He says he clicked on it like everyone else. Those clips do not show the real crash.
Was anyone in Buckcherry hurt in the tour bus crash? No. Neither the band nor the touring crew was injured. The person who died was the driver who had been in the crash ahead of the bus.
The risk is a familiar one on dark highways. A person standing on an interstate at night is hard for drivers to see in time.
====================================================================== ARTICLE 9: The Magic School Bus Turns 40: Movie Status and Live Tour Dates Meta: The Magic School Bus turns 40 in 2026. See where the Elizabeth Banks live-action movie stands and when the national musical tour plays Philadelphia.
The Magic School Bus turns 40 in 2026. Parents want to know two things: is the live-action movie coming, and can the kids see a show this winter? The film has no release date. The live musical does.
Joanna Cole and Bruce Degen launched the book series with Scholastic in 1986. More than 90 million copies have sold. Universal’s rights to a live-action film lapsed, and Legendary Entertainment, working with Scholastic, took over the project in June 2026. Rob Letterman is set to write and direct. Elizabeth Banks is attached to produce and star as Ms. Valerie Frizzle. Plot details have not been confirmed.
The stage show is further along. TheatreWorksUSA is touring a musical called The Magic School Bus: Lost in the Solar System across the country in 2026–2027. It plays Philadelphia’s Suzanne Roberts Theatre on Dec. 4 and 5. Connor Gallagher directed and choreographed the production.
The series is known for teaching science through classroom field trips. The class travels in a yellow school bus that magically turns into everything from a plane to a submarine to a spaceship, so they can explore places like outer space and the human body. Each theater handles its own tickets, so the Philadelphia box office is the place to check seats for the December dates.
If you are planning around the holidays, book the stage show and don’t wait for the movie. Check the tour page for your city, since stops differ by city.
Fans of the animated series may also remember Fiona Frizzle, Valerie’s younger sister, who teaches the class in the Netflix revival.
Is the live-action Magic School Bus movie with Elizabeth Banks still happening? Yes, it is in development, with Banks attached to produce and star and Letterman set to write and direct. Legendary and Scholastic are producing it, and no release date has been announced.
The book series has been in print since 1986.
