The Scarborough Conservation Commission is still looking for a few hardy volunteers to help map the town’s vernal pools this spring.

The commission was to hold the first of two training sessions Wednesday night in the tech room of Scarborough High School at 6:30 p.m. A second training session, outdoors, will be held sometime in early April, the date to be determined by species activity.

Although volunteers are expected to attend both sessions, Paul Austin, commission chairman, said a few volunteers may be able to “catch up” by attending just the second session.

Vernal pools are critical amphibian habitats formed by spring runoff into low areas of the landscape. They typically dry up by summer.

Because there are no predatory fish, vernal pools are essential to species such as the wood frog and spotted salamander, which mate and lay their eggs in these protected areas.

Data compiled by the volunteers will become part of a town database, helping protect important vernal pools from development and other threats.

After training, volunteers will make two visits to each vernal pool, one in mid-April to verify wood frog activity, and the second in mid-May to verify salamander activity. The total time commitment is expected to be 15 to 20 hours.

Anyone interested in participating can contact Austin at 883-6050, or Bob Jordan at 883-3169. Because global positioning system devices will be used to locate the pools, volunteers with GPS skills and receivers would be particularly helpful.