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Archive for December, 2016

Final Post: Human History of My Spot

09 Dec

My location for the phenology project has been in the Casavant Natural Area by the Winooski River in the city of Winooski. Winooski, which in the language of the Abenaki Tribe means “land of the wild onion”, is a small 1.5 square mile city in the metropolitan Burlington area. Due to the size of the land and the industrial history, Winooski is not overflowing with natural places where the people can explore and relax, in fact, the Casavant Natural Area is one of a few such places. Because of that circumstance, two reasonable conclusions can be drawn. First off, the Casavant Natural Area is frequently visited by Winooskians. I have observed many attendees as dog walkers who reside in the apartment complex next door. And secondly, much care and preservation goes into the maintenance of the land.

 

Stream between island and trail

Stream between island and trail

 

Mentioned in a post below, my specific spot in the protected area is nestled away from the trail and, as seen in the picture above, is turned into an island when the river water rises. Only those willing to balance across a fallen tree and a series of floating logs are able to access the island. While strolling around my spot during my previous visit, I came across natural signs that seem to depict a past of relatively little human interruption.

One of many fallen trees

One of many fallen trees

The main piece of evidence I noticed was the amount of seemingly naturally fallen trees. There are not many trees in the area, which I speculate is due to the harsh and unpredictable nature of growing within close proximity to a river. Out of the trees present, it seems there are about the same number of living standing trees as there are toppled decaying ones. Also, the surface is not level. Throughout almost all the island the ground is defined by random mounds and ditches. This phenomenon mirrors the old sugar maple stand on Ricker Mountain, where over time, the natural occurrence of trees falling and roots uplifting created mounds in the forest.

Uplifted roots

Uplifted roots

 

Example of mound/ditch pattern

Example of mound/ditch pattern

All this evidence makes it very plausible that the my spot in the Casavant Natural Area has had the opportunity throughout its past to grow, decay and change with little influence or destruction stemming from human interaction. If my analysis of the land is accurate, then my spot is under very curious conditions. This is because, the land has been able to develop separate from humans but at the same time is near a plethora of human structures. For example, at my spot, if you gaze down the river you see old brick buildings that were once industrial mills, and if you turn up the river you are staring right at a bridge that carries route 89 over the water, and then often times if you look up you see an airplane preparing to land at the Burlington International Airport. Even when you are walking through this preserved and beautiful natural area, it is challenging to feel detached from the human world for more than a second when you can constantly hear planes flying and cars bustling in a hurry. This acts as a reminder of how hard it is to truly escape from the commotion and sounds of cyclical human life.

View up the river

View up the river

 
 
 
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