Describing my new place in the style of Leopold:
Dukes Estate was owned by James Buchanan Duke. While he ran the estate, It was a working cattle farm, as well as one of his family homes. Much of the property was left forested and as meadows. The property was originally considered as a site to build a college, but these plans were never followed through, so the land has largely been preserved. Most of the man made structures were barns, housing for workers, and sculptures. Many of the building, have been converted to educational centers. One example of this is the main hay barn, which is now the orientation center. It is used to give school groups, as well as normal visitors, some information about the goals of the property. The buildings which have not been renovated, are starting to be reclaimed by nature, such as the foundation of a house that was never built. In my photos, you can see that trees are beginning to grow back around the concrete. Many of the paths around the property have been repurposed as walking trails for the many visitors that come every year. Many of the improvements made to the property have been done since 2012 when the property opened for the public. Now there are solar panels, constructed wetlands, and other examples of environmentally conscious projects all over the property.
Comparing my two sites in the style of Holland:
First, the location of my two sites are not too different. Both are close to the water, my site in Burlington being along the Winooski river, and my site in Duke Farms being along the shore of a pond. My Duke Farms site however, is in New Jersey, much farther south than Vermont. This means that it is usually much warmer than in Burlington (by about 20 degrees on the day I visited). Another difference is the types of trees I found while observing my places. My spot in Burlington has a lot of Boxelder, Honeysuckle, and Basswood trees. In my place in New Jersey, I observed Northern Red Oak trees, and Red Maple trees. There was also fewer ground cover plants in my New Jersey location, however this may be due to human management strategies. There was however a meadow near my forested location. In this meadow, there were many plants such as Milkweed, and New England Aster. I learned many of these things through the numerous signs posted around the property to teach visitors about the ecology. I did not see many animals in my New Jersey location, but I did see a few squirrels and deer, as I was walking into the property. Also, My New Jersey site has been more manipulated by humans than my Burlington site in the form of a manmade lake system that runs throughout the property.
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