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“A Correct map of Burlington from actual survey” made by W. Colt in 1810. My site is located in plot 19 showing they divided land by total area rather than natural resources. Photo Credit: Burlington Geographic
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“Map of the City of Burlington” by G.M. Hopkins made in 1890. My plot of land would be owned by the Ainsworth family and would be named under Grace for her husband died the prior year. Photo Credit: Burlington Geographic
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“Aerial photography of Burlington, VT” made by Sunburn Co. in 1937. This shows my site being under the ownership of UVM in the development of Centennial Field and clearing of the nearby area. Photo Credit: Burlington Geographic
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“Google Maps” generated as of 2018. This shows my site still under the ownership of UVM and still being used for Centennial Field. It also shows the preservation of Centennial Forest as a natural protected area and the development of a retention pond. Photo Credit: Google Maps
My phenology site is located near Centennial Brook flowing into the Winooski River making it a key location for human settlement. I found no evidence of Abenaki or other indigenous groups occupying my site most likely due to a lack of records and documentation. However, they most likely they did more it being a flat area with well drained soil. They could of made use of my area by using the brook for its fertile soils and active beavers on site. With the arrival of Europeans there is much more recorded land use of my area. The earliest map show is from 1810 showing how the land was marked up by plots per area of land rather than resources. My site produced many natural resources such as beaver, lumber (hardwoods and softwoods), and scouring rush to scouring pots, pans, sand wood, and more. The next major record for my land was in the late 1800s. The Ainsworth family owned my site for many years dating back till 1880 to 1904 in the Burlington Directories. Both Lorenzo and Grace Ainsworth worked on the land as farmers producing wool from merino sheep. Their production was recorded in the Agricultural Census of Vermont. Grace had family nearby on Colchester Ave. called the Edcumbe family. Also farmers, William Edcumbe operates seven acres of land and boards other family members. Lucia Edgcume boarded with William from 1882 operating two acres of land with her college Mrs. Sarah Stevens. In addition, in 1889 Geo Edgcumbe board with William to work at E W Chase company where they produced doors and other wood products. Lorenzo Ainsworth would die in 1889 making Grace the sole owner of the property when the 1890 map was drawn up. Grace would later give her property to UVM when she died in 1904 at age 73. Her land would be operated by UVM to develop Centennial Field and Centennial Forest. I went to both her and her husband’s grave at Green Mount Cemetery located nearby on Colchester Ave., also where the Edgcumbe family is buried.
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This an advertisement of where Geo Edgcume worked at while boarding at William Edgcume’s property. This came from the 1885-1887 Burlington directory, which helped in locating individuals, their address, and occupation.
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This device allows the use to observe film documents through a computer processor. Located in special collections it allowed me to look at the 1880 agricultural census of Vermont.
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Divided up by county this shows a list of farmers per a given area of Burlington, Chittenden county. This lists the farmer, amount of land, quality of land, and what they produced.
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This is the film canister holding onto the agricultural census surveys in Vermont in the 1880s. This large document is comprised into a small film to be looked at without damaging the records.
http://www.uvm.edu/place/burlingtongeographic/maps/index.php
http://www.uvm.edu/~campus/centfield/centennialhistory.html
http://www.uvm.edu/~uvmsc/Centennial%20Woods/Changing_Landscapes_Centennial_Woods002.pdf
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This is the grace of Lorenzo and Grace Ainsworth. It is said that Grace watches over her old property and is only a half-mile away. She and her husband are buried along with other famous Burlington residents such as Ethan Allan, a famous revolutionary war hero.
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At Green Mount Cemetery there is an abundance of Cedar Trees representing eternal life. Similar to Ricker Mountain, these trees were planted as to respect those buried here.
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This tree located at my site has coppice showing it was once a farmland. Most likely it was cut down to make way for fields for browsing sheep then later regrew yielding two trunks.
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Vermont Electric Company operates the land by building power lines that run over Centennial Brook and across the Winooski River. The poles are mostly likely made from the nearby trees since they are similar in size. Below it also shows an added retention pond to prevent pollution of excess nutrients and creates habitats for wetland species such as wood ducks and red-winged black birds.
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This is the off season for the UVM’s Lake Monsters baseball team, yet in the warmer months it is packed. This area attracts UVM students and Burlington residence bringing capital and sense of place to individuals with the risk of pollution to the adjacent Centennial Forest.
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The mascot of the beloved UVM baseball team is based off Lake Champlain’s Champ. This cryptic monster refers to the whales and other large marine life when Lake Champlain connected to the Atlantic by the Saint Laurence River.
Centennial field would solve UVM’s problem of a lack of space for athletic space and be home for the UVM Lake Monsters. The rest of my site would also be owned by Fred Fiske who would continue to operate the land as a farm until the 1920s. With the lack of agriculture more industries came into my site such as airlines and power lines. Vermont Electric company would come in and place power lines creating edge habitats. These edges would introduce early succession trees and new habitats for edge species such as catbirds currently present at my site during the spring and summer months. In addition, the area would be later disturbed by excess noise from Burlington Airport. However when UVM declared Centennial Forest as a protected area my site had time to regrow into healthy mature forrest with some signs of disturbance. Now it serves as a natural area for all those who want to escape the urban setting of Burlington.
In terms of seasonal changes, winter is practically here and can be seen in the wildlife here. For the vegetation, all the herbaceous plants are non prevalent seen as in the phragmites all fallen over exposing the brook for me to see and the deciduous tree species have either lost all their leaves or lost their pigment such as beech trees. In terms of animal life there is limited bird populations such as warblers and thrushes leaving only the year-round birds such as nuthatches, chickadees, cardinals, and crows. For the physical properties the ground as frozen over making it difficult for excess water from rain and snow to infiltrate the soil creating large puddles are increase the current of Centennial Brook.
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At one point this used to be a colorful sight of red sumacs and lush ferns, yet now is dormant. The phragmites have fallen as well as leaves of deciduous trees making the brook more visible. The lack of productivity creates lesser resources for wildlife causing all fauna and flora to develop adaptations to manage the winter.
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With excess snow and rain drains flowing into Centennial Brook have increased water input making stronger currents and water discharge. In addition to the ground being frozen over water cannot penetrate the soil making more water and snow enter the brook. As a result, this is one of the highest amounts of water the brook will hold during the phenological year.
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This Northern Cardinal stands out more visibly against the white landscape from fallen leaves and its fiery plumage. Cardinals are traditionally not found in the northeast and have been reportedly to be moving more north. They have been extending their range based from climate change and more feeders. Now Cardinals are a year long resident here in Vermont and can be seen the entirety of this winter season.
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With more and more snow that allows more visible animal tracks. These prints belong to a frightened cotton-tail rabbit. The paw prints all being lined up show that this rabbit was most likely threatened and scampered off to safety.