Place Based Phenology – Salmon Hole on the Winooski
A UVM blog by Leah Gardiner
The Salmon Hole
Down on the river
Not far from the road
An old factory across the way.
I walk along
The grass sways
The river runs
But I can still hear the cars nearby.
I see birds in the sky
And footprints in the sand.
I even see a fish
But I also see litter.
A natural area
Very relaxing
Trees, water, life
But the impact of humans evident.
The vegetation at my location consists of grasses, small shrubs, and trees. The grasses grow on the shoreline. I could not identify the shrubs but noticed the sharply serrated leaves and orange berries. I will be sure to identify these shrubs in the future. Trees in the area include green ash, red sumac, basswood, red oak and norway maple.
The Salmon Hole on the Winooski River is a popular site for fishing located on the city boundary of Burlington. There are also walking trails that run through the small woods along the shoreline of the river. The shoreline is composed of outcroppings of rock with some sandy areas. Here, the river runs east, the water flowing quickly through historic Winooski and towards where it will enter Lake Champlain.
I started looking near the Salmon Hole because I wanted to find a location that is on the water, which would create more diversity of wildlife in the area. I also thought it would be interesting to observe the fish in the river. I chose this location specifically because the 20 mile radius contains a variety of both biotic and abiotic factors. It includes the water, the shoreline, the rock outcropping, and the trees on the edge of the woods. I also wanted to look near the Salmon Hole because it is easily accessible by public transportation.
You can get to my location by starting at the Salmon Hole sign near the parking area. Follow the sign down the sidewalk to the trailhead marked by two stone pillars. Head down the built-in stairs and keep walking until you pass a bench on the right, then take the next set of stairs towards the water. At the bottom, turn left at the sign that says “to river trail”, and walk out onto the rock outcrop on the water.