In the second installment of Nature Moments, a new weekly series of short videos, Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Professor of Natural Sciences Nathanial T. Wheelwright goes for a swim—with leeches.

“I used to be afraid of leeches until I tried a simple experiment that showed that they much prefer frogs,” said Wheelwright. “Now I’d much rather swim in a natural pond than a sterile chlorinated pool.”

Nature Moments was launched to celebrate the publication of The Naturalist’s Notebook. Written by Wheelwright and Bernd Heinrich, emeritus professor of biology at the University of Vermont, the book encourages people to observe and record their natural surroundings in a five-year journal.

The authors are donating 100 percent of their royalties to support conservation and environmental education.

There will be book launches of The Naturalist’s Notebook at Maine Audubon’s Gilsland Farm headquarters in Falmouth, Oct. 26, 2017 at 6:30 p.m., and at Brunswick’s Curtis Memorial Library on Nov. 1, 2017 at 7 p.m.

Enjoy the first installment of Nature Moments.