There and Back Again: An Environmental Science Student’s Tale

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November 28, 2016

Over the Thanksgiving break, I journeyed to my hometown (Reading, Massachusetts) and went to the town forest near my house, where I investigated the landscape. While I was there, I made observations as to how the human use had impacted the land and the different kinds of vegetation present.

In my Reading phenology spot, the major hardwoods were Oaks, presumably Northern Red and White. There were also a large amount of reed type shrubs, which I was told were an invasive species, and outcompeted the native cattails. In contrast, the hardwoods in my Burlington spot are silver maples, with different shrubs on the ground.

Northern Rad Oak

White Oak

Both of my spots are surrounded by water. In Burlington, my spot is surrounded by the Winooski river, and the vegetation in this spot looks more like I am in the middle of a forest than by a river. On the other hand, in Reading, my spot is surrounded the Ipswich Watershed, and the vegetation looks as if I am in wetlands.

Historically, Reading Massachusetts was a large swamp, as a large portion of the land was a part of the Ipswich river watershed. Reading was founded in 1644, and as people continued to buy land, more and more of the wetlands were destroyed. This town forest often makes me think about the landscape near reading before the colonization of America by the Europeans. The town forest provides a snapshot of what Reading originally looked like; a bog with a small river running through.

There were also considerably more signs of animal life in my Reading spot than in Burlington. Looking out from my spot, I saw several bird houses, which were part of an old student’s Eagle Scout project. I also saw what was left of a Beaver dam, a bird’s nest in a young tree by the water’s edge, and a woodpecker on one of the hardwoods. In Burlington, I have only seen sins of birds and beaver activity.